Why Nolan’s Odyssey Adaptation Works
This is a "spoiler review" video, so don't watch this until you've seen the movie!
Comments (16)
Your conclusion is brilliant as always and I couldn't agree more. By little less than 3 hours I've been through the journey right beside Odysseus. I think it's become my favorite Nolan's film.
Glad you enjoyed it Teresa. It's been interesting to see that Emily Wilson, upon whose translation the film is based, has been somewhat negative about the film. I guess it's gonna be touch to please someone who is so deeply knowledgeable about the original story. All of this has got me thinking about making a dedicated video about the idea of "adaptation". Cause it seems to be there's simply no way of telling this story to a contemporary audience WITHOUT it being fundamentally different from the original, simply because WE (the audience) can never relate to the time it was written in.
I am watching this before seeing the movie. Mainly because I don't go to theaters very often and I wanted to see if this would be worth it. And honestly you've sold me on seeing it, especially with your closing perspective in regards to its age and retelling. I will probably still be too critical of it, but I am more willing to give it a fair view than I was before.
I think love or hate it, the movie is worth seeing just cause everyone's talking about it, and the discussion is pretty fascinating
Sorry for the basic reply, but this review makes me curious as to what you think of the 2004 film Troy!
Been a LONG time since I've seen it. But I remember LIKING it but not LOVING it. My recollection is that the overall production was incredible, Brad Pitt was great, but in the end the story was lacking focus or something. I should watch again
As ever, I found your video insightful and thought-provoking. Full disclosure: I found the film a very hard watch and came out with a quite negative overall impression. You've helped to mollify that to some extent, and to appreciate some things that passed me by. But I think you put your finger on one of the main issues: There are at least four settings for different aspects/timelines of the film, how they are treated is very uneven, and ultimately they aren't stitched together very well. My additional takes are: The characters have no room to breathe, we bounce from one thing to another with no time to reflect - hence it's easy to miss things. Almost no-one has a character arc - even though Odysseus is (self-) described as having been changed by his experiences, that doesn't seem to be reflected in how he thinks and behaves - the portrayal is one-note throughout. Also, the film has a very grim, dark and bleak vision, both in terms of the action and the nature of human experience. Everyone is suffering, the good guys are either humiliated or dying, even the bad guys don't seem to enjoy being evil very much. For me, it all adds up to a 'feel bad' movie. I realise some people like that. I don't.
That's fair – I don't think the movie is the unanimous hit that it's sometimes being framed as. I have a couple friends who had similar gripes with it
the whole thing doesn't work, it's terrible, odysseus should've just died #teamtroy
Any thoughts on the maybe false perceptions we create about the value sets of ancient cultures when we alter myths to such a degree? Modern audiences would be hard pressed to sympathize or find Odysseus “heroic” if portrayed in his ancient characterization. And though I’m not against retelling myths within a modern context, I do wonder if we end up somewhat romanticizing ancient cultures instead of taking a more objective view of them, their triumphs and their failings.
I don’t mind spoilers, which apparently puts me at odds with nearly everyone. If I decide to visit, say, The Saint Louis Arch, I have a pretty good idea what it’s going to be like — but it’s the experience of doing so which is valuable. So too with movies: experiencing the movie is the point, not merely knowing the story (or the surprises.) (In many ways, this is like your recent video about AI removing some of the most essential parts of art: the actual creation of art has value in itself, not just the end product.)
That's interesting – I feel like knowing the ending influences how I experience the story, but I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I always seem to walk away from a Nolan film feeling I just looked into a mirror, being able to take something meaningful for either myself or society. Whether it’s what Nolan intended or not… The Odyssey showed me what can happen to a civilization that loses its civility. So to move that 3000 year old story up to modern day… What curses will be brought down upon us? Maybe we too have lost our way, and hopefully the next generation can rebuild what is broken.
Yay! I'm going to the cinema with a very different mindset now. Can't wait to see the movie and your review!
I didn't know he leaned on Emily Wilson's translation. That fits, since her translation makes the poem seem to judge things Homer simply reports, which is already halfway to a retelling, but that's a translator's problem, not Nolan's. A translation is a window for someone who can't read Greek. A film never is. Nobody walks out of this thinking they've read Homer, so the move that's out of bounds for Wilson is just what filmmaking is. Which is why "retelling" is a fitting word.
I'm watching it on Tuesday night so I'll have to wait. Looking forward to seeing what you have to say!