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Small Details You Missed In Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
Small Details You Missed In Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
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उपशीर्षक (260)
0:00
The Odyssey is called an epic for a
0:02
reason, and when you're watching
0:03
something so massive in scale, it's easy
0:05
to miss the little things.
0:08
>> Ithaca's king is coming back.
0:11
>> Calling the modernized language in
0:12
Nolan's take on the Odyssey a small
0:14
detail isn't meant to be some sort of
0:16
joke. It's arguably a pretty big detail.
0:18
Telemachus refers to his parents as mom
0:20
and dad rather than mother and father,
0:22
and other modern words are sprinkled
0:24
through the script. Still, it's a
0:26
surprising touch for a story that's so
0:27
famously based on an epic poem, and it's
0:29
already dividing viewers. [music] Some
0:31
might consider it a dumbing down of
0:32
Homer's work, while others might view it
0:34
as an apt modernization of poetry. After
0:37
all, works like this were meant to be
0:38
performed [music] in Homer's era, and
0:39
they were meant to be accessible to all
0:41
audiences.
0:42
>> My dad is coming home. [music]
0:45
They're pining for a daddy he didn't
0:48
even know.
0:49
Like some sniveling bastard.
0:52
>> Nolan, for his part, has an explanation
0:54
of sorts about the language tweaks.
0:55
[music] Speaking to the LA Times, the
0:57
filmmaker said he wanted the dialogue in
0:58
the Odyssey to prioritize emotion over
1:00
strict accuracy. He acknowledged that
1:03
the choice might come back to bite him,
1:04
but he said that it was ultimately a
1:06
no-brainer. For his part, Tom Holland
1:08
had a retort at the ready when he and
1:09
Nolan were asked about the modernized
1:11
dialogue on Channel 4 News. [music]
1:14
>> Because I wouldn't have even said father
1:15
back in the day, would I? I would have
1:16
been Greek, so it's no less correct.
1:19
>> [music]
1:20
>> The Trojan horse has been one of the
1:21
most hyped-up set pieces in Nolan's
1:23
Odyssey ever since the first trailer
1:24
dropped. So, naturally, there's more
1:26
going on with it than you might have
1:28
noticed. To recap the legend from Greek
1:30
mythology, Odysseus crams a whole host
1:32
of his men, including the Spartan king
1:34
Menelaus, into a giant horse [music] to
1:36
trick the Trojans by telling them it's a
1:38
gift to honor Athena. We don't have to
1:40
tell you what happens once the Trojans
1:41
drag the horse inside, but we will
1:44
anyway. Odysseus and the Achaeans lay
1:46
siege to the city of Troy, finally
1:48
ending the war for good. And Nolan's
1:50
interpretation pays special attention to
1:52
where the men exit the horse. After it's
1:54
brought into Troy by cheering city folk,
1:56
it's left alone at night. And as he
1:58
begins the battle, Odysseus drops out of
2:00
the horse's stomach silently and begins
2:02
to slaughter guards with his men as
2:04
backup. Ever heard the saying, "In the
2:06
belly of the beast?" Knowing Nolan,
2:08
there's no way that wasn't intentional.
2:10
They even kept it in the same spot for
2:12
the popcorn buckets, as awkward of a
2:14
snacking experience that might be.
2:16
Being crammed inside a wooden horse with
2:18
a bunch of guys doesn't seem like a very
2:19
fun time. And Nolan's Odyssey doesn't
2:21
shy away from portraying it as a
2:23
disgusting, [music] claustrophobic
2:24
nightmare. After all, the statue isn't
2:26
watertight, and it's not like there are
2:28
any toilets installed. The water rises
2:30
before the Trojans begin to move the
2:32
structure, and Menelaus, telling
2:33
Telemachus about the gambit, recalls
2:35
that he watched men drown before his
2:36
very eyes. When they finally leave the
2:38
horrifying horse, keep an eye on
2:40
Odysseus specifically. He's obviously
2:42
limping. We don't know if this was a
2:44
choice made by Nolan or Damon, but
2:46
chances are the actor wasn't dealing
2:47
with an actual injury. Odysseus still
2:49
fights bravely alongside his men despite
2:51
being clearly hurt, but it's a continued
2:53
reminder of just how [music] taxing an
2:55
experience it is to smuggle yourself
2:57
into a walled city. You know what they
2:59
say though, no pain, no gain.
3:01
Something that Telemachus likes to say
3:03
to characters he admires is that they
3:04
have Athena's eyes. And no, that's not
3:07
some sort of cheeky reference to Tom
3:09
Holland and Zendaya's real-life
3:10
relationship. Because this version of
3:12
the Odyssey seriously tones down the
3:13
magical feats performed by gods
3:15
throughout the poem, Athena merely
3:17
appears to Odysseus when he's at an
3:18
emotional impasse and needs her counsel
3:20
the most.
3:22
>> You gods don't speak in ways we
3:23
understand.
3:25
>> On a surface level, saying that someone
3:26
has Athena's eyes is a poetic way to
3:29
call them wise. [music] Athena is the
3:30
goddess of wisdom after all, and wisdom
3:32
is something that men like Odysseus
3:34
accumulate through decades of battle,
3:35
politics, and entry. That said,
3:37
something that gets referenced by
3:38
multiple characters in the Odyssey is a
3:40
god's ability to disguise themselves as
3:42
mortal beings to walk through society
3:44
undetected. When Telemachus notes that
3:46
someone has Athena's eyes, he might also
3:48
be trying to suss out a secret god in
3:50
his midst.
3:51
One of the most famous obstacles faced
3:53
by Odysseus and his men in the Odyssey
3:55
is the lure of the Sirens, who lure
3:57
sailors to their untimely deaths with a
3:59
song so tempting that they can't resist
4:00
running their ships aground. To combat
4:02
this, Odysseus orders his men to stuff
4:04
their ears with wax and gets them to tie
4:06
him to the boat's mast, desperate to
4:08
become the only man to hear their song
4:09
and live to tell the tale. In the movie
4:11
version, Nolan puts viewers in the shoes
4:13
of the soldiers whose ears remain
4:15
blocked, so the siren song remains
4:16
unheard. Instead, its silence is one
4:19
soldier rips the wax from his ears and
4:21
swims to his certain demise while
4:22
Odysseus struggles against his
4:24
restraints. What this brings to mind for
4:26
fans of Nolan's body of work is
4:27
Oppenheimer, or most specifically
4:29
[music] the Trinity test sequence. As J.
4:31
Robert Oppenheimer and his colleagues
4:33
perform a test in the desert, Nolan
4:35
chose to cut the sound entirely, a touch
4:37
that left entire movie theaters in quiet
4:39
disbelief as they watched one of the
4:40
most memorable explosion sequences in
4:42
movie history. [music]
4:43
Nolan has obviously picked up a number
4:45
of filmmaking flourishes throughout his
4:46
storied career, [music] and smartly
4:48
playing with sound, or lack thereof, is
4:50
just one of the ways in which the
4:51
director distinguishes himself.
4:54
If you've read any of the translations
4:55
of the Odyssey, you were probably glad
4:57
to see a brief glimpse of Odysseus's
4:59
loyal hunting hound Argos in the
5:00
trailers for Nolan's adaptation. If
5:02
that's the case, then you also know that
5:04
Nolan gave Argos additional scenes that
5:05
speak highly to Odysseus's character.
5:08
Early on, Eumaeus and Odysseus are on a
5:10
hilltop together looking at a litter of
5:11
puppies. Enraging dog lovers everywhere,
5:14
Eumaeus carelessly tosses one off a
5:16
cliff. Quickly, Odysseus stops his
5:18
friend [music] and picks up another
5:19
puppy who immediately starts giving him
5:20
kisses. He names it Argos, and as the
5:23
puppy becomes an adult dog, it becomes
5:25
obedient only to the king of Ithaca. In
5:27
Odysseus's long absence, Argos ages
5:29
greatly while being mistreated by
5:31
[music] Penelope's suitors. When
5:32
Odysseus finally returns, Argos
5:34
immediately recognizes his master, who
5:36
gives the dog his blessing to pass
5:38
peacefully. In the original epic, there
5:40
aren't any Argos flashbacks. It's a
5:42
payoff without a setup. Not only do the
5:44
added scenes give Argos's death more
5:45
emotional weight, but they clarify that
5:47
despite his [music] mistakes, Odysseus
5:49
is a good-hearted man who tries to do
5:51
what's right whenever possible.
5:53
>> Help me go home.
5:55
>> While Eumaeus is telling Telemachus
5:57
about his long-lost father, he explains
5:59
that Odysseus never hunted without Argos
6:01
by his side. As we see this happen in a
6:03
flashback, [music] we learn that Argos
6:04
and Odysseus once had a small hunting
6:06
accident involving a boar that resulted
6:08
in a frankly enormous [music] ankle
6:10
wound. As a servant woman carefully
6:12
stitches up Odysseus' ankle, he takes
6:14
the pain bravely, even telling Eumaeus
6:16
that he put himself at a disadvantage by
6:17
plucking the string of his hunting bow
6:19
to get the boar's attention, hoping for
6:21
a fair fight. Years later, when Odysseus
6:24
returns [music] to Ithaca disguised as a
6:25
simple beggar, Penelope kindly welcomes
6:27
him into her palace and asks that same
6:29
woman to wash his feet. Odysseus
6:31
declines, but when Penelope says that
6:33
her husband wanted to welcome all
6:34
visitors fairly, he accepts. [music] And
6:36
the servant immediately realizes that
6:38
her long-lost master has returned
6:40
because she sees the obvious battle scar
6:41
on his ankle. For the entire runtime of
6:43
the Odyssey, Odysseus carries around a
6:45
pin gifted to him by his wife to prove
6:47
that he's truly who he says he is, but
6:49
that gigantic ankle scar [music]
6:50
probably would have done the trick, too.
6:53
One of the scariest sequences in Nolan's
6:54
adaptation of the Odyssey is
6:56
unquestionably the interlude with
6:57
Odysseus' men and Circe, a witch who
7:00
lives on an isolated hilltop on a
7:01
dangerous island. Angry at Odysseus for
7:03
his repeated attempts to get them home,
7:05
all of which have ended in abject
7:07
disaster, his men go on to explore
7:08
Circe's small cabin by themselves. As
7:11
they make their way up the hill, they're
7:12
shocked to discover apex predators like
7:14
lions, tigers, panthers, and leopards,
7:16
none of which attack them. One of the
7:18
many signs that something strange is a
7:20
foot. Once the men make their way
7:21
inside, Circe feeds them her special
7:23
stew and transforms them all into pigs,
7:26
a process that Nolan lingers on for
7:28
maximum effect. Odysseus, rightfully
7:30
suspicious after shooting a deer that
7:32
turns back into a man when the arrow
7:34
strikes, makes [music] his own way to
7:35
Circe's and declines an offer of her
7:36
stew, pointing out that rings belonging
7:38
to his soldiers are in her home. Circe
7:40
tells the pigs to shed their disguises.
7:43
Her argument is that transforming them
7:44
simply proved their true nature and
7:46
allows them to continue on. The animals
7:48
on the pathway, they're a big [music]
7:50
hint as they're other travelers or
7:51
people that Circe has transformed.
7:53
Something we know because her sister is
7:55
living as a caged bird in Circe's hut.
