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Everything Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Gets Right And Wrong About The Story
Everything Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Gets Right And Wrong About The Story
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Phụ đề (342)
0:00
Just how book-accurate is Christopher
0:02
Nolan's adaptation of Homer's epic? Now
0:04
that we've seen The Odyssey, we can
0:05
finally tell you what he got right and
0:07
wrong.
0:08
If you read The Odyssey, you know that
0:09
Homer puts Greek gods [music] front and
0:11
center, letting their machinations,
0:12
manipulation play a large part in
0:14
Odysseus's attempts to return home to
0:15
[music] Ithaca from Troy after the long,
0:17
bloody war. Hermes tells his son
0:19
Telemachus as he searches for news
0:20
[music] of Odysseus, and other gods play
0:23
around with the fates of men. Perhaps
0:24
surprisingly, all of this is almost a
0:26
non-issue [music] in Christopher Nolan's
0:27
take on The Odyssey. Yes, the gods exist
0:30
in Nolan's movie, but they're largely
0:31
unseen, save for Zendaya's terrific
0:33
interludes [music] as Athena, in which
0:35
she appears only to Odysseus himself.
0:37
Even though characters reference that
0:38
any human could potentially [music] be a
0:39
god in disguise, we never actually get
0:41
to see them. Why? As Nolan explained
0:44
during an interview with Time, he wanted
0:46
to put the audience on the same plane
0:47
[music] field as his characters.
0:48
>> Then I defied a god.
0:50
>> As he put it, "I became more [music]
0:51
interested in the idea that the people
0:53
in that period, evidence of gods was
0:54
everywhere. The wonderful thing about
0:56
cinema and IMAX in particular is that
0:58
you can take an audience to a place of
0:59
immersion, feeling close [music] to
1:01
events like storms, turbulent seas, high
1:03
winds." He continued, "You want the
1:05
audience to be on the boat with them,
1:06
fearing the ocean, fearing the wrath of
1:08
Poseidon the way the characters do. That
1:10
to me is so much more powerful than any
1:12
individual image you can have of a god."
1:14
When you sit down to watch The Odyssey,
1:16
one thing becomes immediately [music]
1:17
apparent. The script, written by Nolan
1:19
himself, uses extremely modern language.
1:21
[music] If you're a total purist, don't
1:23
fret. Nobody says "dude" or peppers
1:25
their sentences with "like," but some
1:27
lines really do stand out, [music] like
1:29
whenever Telemachus refers to Odysseus's
1:31
dad instead of father.
1:33
>> My dad is coming home.
1:35
>> There are other smatterings of modern
1:36
terminologies, [music]
1:37
but nothing too offensive. And
1:39
generally, the cadence used by the
1:40
characters is informal rather than
1:42
lyrical. [music] So, what prompted this
1:44
change? In an interview with the Los
1:45
Angeles Times, Nolan said that he wanted
1:47
to make a conscious choice to deploy
1:49
language that has emotional, not
1:50
intellectual meaning to people,
1:52
apparently hoping to make the dialogue
1:53
as accessible as possible. He said, "I
1:56
was maybe being naive. It might bite me
1:58
on the ass, but I wanted [music] an
1:59
earthy narrative. To me, it was a
2:01
no-brainer."
2:02
During the long doomed journey
2:03
undertaken by an overly confident
2:05
Odysseus [music] and his men, the group
2:06
of soldiers keep needing to stop at
2:08
random islands for supplies. After
2:10
getting attacked by the massive
2:11
man-eating armored Laestrygonians,
2:13
[music] who are never named in the film,
2:15
they discover a small isolated cabin
2:17
that houses one woman, Circe, who's
2:19
surrounded by animals ranging from a
2:20
lonely bird to a massive lion. The
2:22
frustrated men leave Odysseus behind and
2:24
enjoy Circe's stew, only [music] to get
2:26
turned into pigs. The canny Odysseus
2:28
figures out what happened when he shoots
2:30
a deer that transforms [music]
2:31
into a man and forces Circe to return
2:33
his men to their human forms, at which
2:35
point they just leave. Those who've read
2:37
the [music] poem know this skips a
2:38
pretty major Circe plot line. In the
2:40
poem, Odysseus receives help from Hermes
2:42
and uses an herb called moly to avoid
2:45
Circe's [music] magic. And after she
2:46
turns his men back into humans, the two
2:48
spend a year as lovers before they set
2:49
sail again. It makes sense that Nolan
2:51
trimmed this down, but it's a little bit
2:53
of a shame that we didn't get to spend
2:54
more time with Samantha Morton's
2:56
cunning, frightening, and captivating
2:57
Circe.
2:59
The very first trial that Odysseus and
3:00
his men encounter during their journey
3:02
[music] home is a chance meeting with
3:03
the Cyclops Polyphemus when they enter
3:05
his cave following his flock of sheep as
3:07
they hope to find livestock to hunt and
3:09
eat. This provides one of the most tense
3:11
and thrilling sequences in the film as
3:12
Polyphemus, hungry and confused by the
3:14
fact that he has company, [music] starts
3:16
chomping on those soldiers like Saturn
3:18
in the famous painting by Francisco
3:19
Goya, a direct influence according to
3:21
Nolan [music] himself. The Cyclops
3:23
barely speaks except to mutter his dad's
3:25
name, Poseidon, which is how we learn
3:27
that the sea god keeps sending storms
3:29
and winds to mess up Odysseus's boat
3:31
after the war hero tussles [music] with
3:32
the god's big weird son. That's not how
3:35
it goes down in the poem, though.
3:36
Instead, Polyphemus speaks [music] and
3:38
Odysseus says his name is nobody. After
3:40
he delivers brutal physical attacks and
3:42
injures Polyphemus and fellow Cyclops
3:44
come to check on their friends, they ask
3:46
who's attacking him. Polyphemus
3:48
responds, "Nobody." [music]
3:49
So, why did Nolan cut this? As Nolan
3:51
revealed on The Daily Show to host Jon
3:53
Stewart, he knows people will be upset,
3:56
but he had a reason.
3:57
>> [music]
3:57
>> It's a pun.
3:58
Puns in translation are tough. I tried.
4:01
It was not possible to work it in.
4:03
>> Considering how long the epic poem is,
4:05
it makes sense that not every single
4:07
aspect of the story could realistically
4:08
make it into the adaptation. [music]
4:10
With that in mind, it's pretty
4:11
reasonable that Nolan cut Odysseus's
4:13
entire interlude on the island of
4:15
Scheria, where he essentially crash
4:17
lands after leaving Calypso's island.
4:19
Athena tells the Phaeacian princess
4:20
Nausicaa to heal Odysseus, [music] and
4:22
after he excels at sporting events on
4:24
the island, he gains the trust of the
4:25
Phaeacians and tells them the story of
4:27
his previous journey. [music] We get
4:28
this exposition through Odysseus in the
4:30
movie, but in a different situation, and
4:32
it's one that makes a lot more sense for
4:33
[music] a film adaptation, honestly.
4:35
Still, if you love the Phaeacian
4:36
storyline in the poem, go ahead and
4:38
mentally fan cast the princess Nausicaa
4:40
to your heart's content.
4:42
We've got bad news for you. If hurt or
4:44
dying dogs are a cinematic line you just
4:46
can't cross, the Odyssey has a few
4:48
moments that might turn your stomach,
4:50
and they concern Odysseus's loyal
4:52
hunting HOUND ARGOS.
4:54
>> NO. GOD, [screaming] PLEASE, NO.
4:56
>> EARLY IN THE FILM, Odysseus's friend and
4:58
Ithacan swineherd Eumaeus is telling
4:59
Telemachus about Argos, now an elderly
5:02
dog sitting by Eumaeus's feet who growls
5:03
[music] at pretty much anyone that's not
5:05
Odysseus. This is when we're treated to
5:07
a flashback and see Eumaeus tossing a
5:09
puppy from a new litter off of a cliff
5:11
top. Thankfully, Odysseus puts a stop to
5:13
that when he plucks a pup from said
5:14
litter who immediately kisses his face,
5:16
and that dog grows up into Argos,
5:18
Odysseus's intrepid hunting dog.
5:20
Unfortunately, audiences are also forced
5:22
to watch as Penelope's odious and
5:24
drunken suitors kick Argos as he begs
5:26
for scraps of food in the palace's great
5:28
hall. They eventually carry the injured
5:29
dog to a manure heap just outside the
5:31
palace and leave him there to die. Argos
5:33
does pass away, but not until Odysseus
5:36
returns to Ithaca disguised as a beggar
5:38
and reunites with his dog, which is
5:39
precisely what happens in the [music]
5:41
poem.
5:42
In the poem, Odysseus is revealed to be
5:44
a captive of the nymph Calypso, [music]
5:46
and when he escapes, he heads to
5:47
Scheria. There's also a plot line in the
5:50
poem where Odysseus [music] and his crew
5:51
happen upon a random island filled with
5:53
the Lotus-Eaters, who feed them magical
5:55
flowers that make them forget about
5:56
their quest to return home. In the
5:58
movie, however, Calypso is played by
6:00
Charlize Theron, and her role is
6:02
radically expanded. Not only does
6:04
Odysseus not visit Scheria between
6:06
Calypso's island and Ithaca, he goes
6:08
directly from Calypso's island to Ithaca
6:10
on a humble raft, begging all the while
6:12
for Poseidon's forgiveness. It's also
6:14
Calypso in the story who feeds Odysseus
6:16
the lotus flowers, though [music] she
6:17
explains why. When he washed up on shore
6:19
after the rest of his crew perished in a
6:21
horrifying storm, [music]
6:22
Odysseus's body could be repaired with
6:24
natural medicine, but his mind remained
6:26
troubled. [music] To try and help him,
6:28
Calypso fed him lotus flowers to put him
6:29
at ease. But as she fell in love with
6:31
him, she continued plying [music] him
6:32
with flowers so he wouldn't want to
6:34
return home to Penelope and Telemachus.
6:36
Ultimately, in the film, Calypso
6:38
confesses her deceit to Odysseus, helps
6:40
him regain his memories, and lets him
6:41
go. This is another change that does
6:43
make sense as far as the adaptation
6:45
process is concerned. And Theron is so
6:47
excellent as Calypso that it works
6:49
perfectly. Pretty much everyone agrees
6:51
at this point.
6:52
>> You showed up and you showed out, and we
6:54
love Calypso.
6:55
>> Thank you.
6:55
>> you in this film.
6:57
>> While a lot of characters in the Odyssey
6:58
got tweaks and adjustments, two remain
7:00
essentially the same: [music] Telemachus
7:02
and Penelope. Let's start with
7:03
Telemachus, performed by a doe-eyed and
7:05
meek Tom Holland, whose only goal is to
7:07
figure out whether or not his missing
7:08
father Odysseus is alive in the first
7:10
place. And if he is alive, to find him
7:13
and return him to Ithaca to retake his
7:15
rightful place [music] on the throne.
7:16
Aside from the lack of his literary
7:17
sidekick Kermit, Telemachus is pretty
7:19
true to his character in the poem. He's
7:21
a young man who doesn't have instinctive
7:23
fighting skills, but is ready to learn
7:24
in battle alongside his allies whenever
7:26
he's needed. Then there's the
7:27
long-suffering Penelope, who pretends to
7:29
entertain a house full of hopeful
7:31
suitors while saying she'll marry when
7:32
she finishes weaving a shroud.
7:34
Unbeknownst to most of them, she unplugs
7:36
her progress by hand every night so that
7:38
the shroud will never be completed. Anne
7:40
Hathaway, gunning for her second
7:41
supporting actress Oscar, plays Penelope
7:43
with a steely glint in her eye and a
7:45
backbone made of pure [music] iron. Best
7:47
on display in a stunning scene where she
7:49
lambasts her own son for being weak and
7:51
flies into [music] a rage over the fact
7:52
that she's received no credit for ruling
7:54
Ithaca for years. She also stays
7:56
essentially true to the original
7:58
character.
8:00
>> That world is gone.
8:02
>> Another element of the story that
8:03
specifically concerns Telemachus [music]
8:05
and Penelope stays true to the poem as
8:06
well. And that's the final showdown
8:08
between Penelope's awful suitors and her
8:10
long-lost husband Odysseus, who returns
8:12
to Ithaca disguised as a humble beggar.
8:14
[music] Though Telemachus figures out
8:16
Odysseus's true identity thanks to Argos
8:18
in the film, which differs from Odysseus
8:20
simply revealing himself in the poem,
8:22
the major beats are the same. As
8:23
Odysseus and Telemachus quietly arrange
8:25
to have all the displayed weapons in the
8:27
palace hidden in a secure storeroom, the
8:29
suitors torment and beat Odysseus in his
8:31
disguise. Then Penelope makes a
8:33
startling announcement. She will
8:34
remarry, [music]
8:35
but only to a suitor who can string
8:36
Odysseus's famed hunting bow and win an
8:39
archery contest. In the film, the suitor
8:41
in question must exactly copy Odysseus
8:43
by restringing the bow and shooting it
8:44
through a line of 12 axes to hit a
8:46
target. Naturally, none of the suitors
8:48
can string the bow at all until Odysseus
8:50
steps up and completes [music] the
8:51
challenge, and bloodshed ensues. After a
8:54
hard-fought battle, Odysseus kills the
8:56
suitors alongside Telemachus and
8:57
presents himself to Penelope [music] as
8:59
her long-lost husband. That, however, is
9:01
where the ending of Nolan's film does
9:03
diverge.
9:05
In the poem, Odysseus is asked to prove
9:06
his identity to Penelope when she
9:08
insists that he [music] move their
9:09
marital bed. Knowing this is a trick
9:11
because of bed physically can't be
9:12
moved, Odysseus refuses and the two are
9:15
finally [music] reunited. In the
9:16
aftermath, Telemachus has scores of
9:18
female servants hanged for consorting
9:20
[music] with the now-dead suitors, and
9:21
even though the powerful families of the
9:23
suitors attempt to avenge their fallen
9:24
sons and brothers, Athena [music] steps
9:26
in and prevents any more blood from
9:27
being spilled. The film takes a
9:29
different approach. [music] Throughout
9:31
the runtime, we see Odysseus caress a
9:32
pin in the shape of Athena, which we
9:34
also watch Penelope pin [music] to his
9:36
robes before he leaves to fight in the
9:37
Trojan War. And that's what he gives
9:39
Penelope upon his [music] return to
9:40
prove that it's him. Telemachus also
9:42
doesn't hang anyone. Instead, he becomes
9:45
the king of Ithaca as Penelope and
9:46
Odysseus fulfill a long-held dream and
9:48
sail into the unknown west together to
9:50
finally escape the pressures of Ithaca.
9:52
It's a beautiful, peaceful ending.
9:54
Definitely not how Homer's epic poem
9:56
concludes.
