Nolan's Odyssey: not subversive, not that deep episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 29, 2026 · 1H 20M

Nolan's Odyssey: not subversive, not that deep

from Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast · host Thomas Mirus

Nathan Douglas and Thomas Mirus review Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's Odyssey. It is not necessarily a bad thing if an adaptation doesn't reproduce the precise worldview of its source material - an artist makes his own work of art, not a scholarly translation. The movie is not a deliberate subversion of its source material, as many assumed. It is Nolan's honest personal reflection on what the poem means to him. But he does view the story through the lens of modern concerns which, while by no means false or unworthy of exploration or even totally incompatible with Homer's story, result in a less interesting version of Odysseus and a less coherent but overly didactic interpretation of the events depicted. Links Clip about diversity casting from previous episode https://youtu.be/5EEe-ogUXMI Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters  DONATE to make this show possible! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

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Nolan's Odyssey: not subversive, not that deep

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