The Odyssey, by Christopher Nolan: Our Take on the Movie of the Summer

Emily and Cam take on Christopher Nolan’s film, “The Odyssey.” Everyone has an opinion on this movie, and Emily and Cam are no different. Sheep, and Cyclops, and Circe, oh my!Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email:https://havetogawilltravel.comIf you liked this episode, buy us a coffee:Our Ko-Fi pageUseful Links:Listen to our overview of Homer’s Odyssey.Listen to our episode about the “The Return”, Uberto Passolini’s splendid 2024 adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.Cover image: adapted from “The Wine-Dark Sea,” a photo by Alan Hughes, Wikimedia Commons.----------00:11 - Introduction01:06 - The bottom line (good and bad)02:39 - The film as a reflecting pool (or theater set)03:52 - Synopsis06:45 - What we loved06:49 - Practical effects and a textured world (featuring the sheep!)10:10 - The film’s visual language: costumes, colors, props, palaces (historical accuracy is NOT the goal here)14:04 - A deep and talented bench of actors (with a shoutout to Himesh Patel and John Leguizamo)17:31 - Some choice storytelling moments20:02 - The adventure stories: Polyphemus’ cave; the sirens; the underworld; Circe27:23 - Athena and the other gods29:14 - Approaching Nolan's Odyssey29:21 - How we evaluate movies like this: give us a smart adaptation that does something interesting!30:32 - The story Nolan wants to tell: war damages both individuals and societies, causing trauma and social collapse33:52 - The main problem: too much telling, not enough showing36:25 - Odysseus breaks the world?36:38 - The setup: Zeus’ Law, the Trojan Horse, and the Sea Peoples37:09 - The horse: a gift for Athena, or a gift for Zeus?38:37 - Odysseus and his crew as the “Sea Peoples”: an unconvincing yarn44:14 - The Sea Peoples as a hollow threat?47:17 - Odysseus traumatized?47:36 - The nature of Odysseus’ suffering48:11 - Odysseus and his (lack of?) relationships with his crew49:29 - Odysseus and Sinon52:11 - Odysseus miraculously recovers (but doesn’t seem to learn anything?)53:58 - Violence in Nolan’s film54:39 - Christopher Nolan’s take on depicting violence and alienating audiences55:52 - The horrors witnessed by Odysseus at Troy57:29 - Odysseus takes on the suitors59:49 - Unsatisfying Endings60:08 - The problems with Penelope (and her treehouse bed!)63:02 - Rushed endings and dangling resolutions65:02 - Words of wisdom spoken at the bar66:18 - Final takeaways: our thoughts on why this film looks the way it does66:30 - The Adventure Stories (a.k.a. the Odyssey Trap)67:49 - Unsatisfying stakes?68:59 - Odysseus the hero71:16 - Wrap-up