Nolan's the Odyssey
Hollywood stars are so famous and wide reaching that a single name is often enough to bring forth a wide range of performances, and memorable cinematic moments: Chaplin, Hepburn, Davis, Brando, DiCaprio… All of them have shaped the relationship between audiences and the big screen, dragging the wider public to cinema over and over again. Every once in a while, stars of this magnitude are also formed behind the camera, ensuring, with their auteur stamp, the quality of the film at hand: Ford, Scorsese, Bigelow, Tarantino, Gerwig, Cuarón… are all but few of examples of this. In recent years, however, no director’s name has arguably been more defining in Hollywood than Nolan. From his Batman trilogy, to Interstellar, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer… quality exudes from every second of his filmography. This week, his most ambitious project comes out, and I am sure our expectations will be met.
Nolan’s The Odyssey is a film of firsts, it is the first adaptation of the Greek foundational epic onto the big screen, and for the cinema technical enthusiasts out there, it is the first film ever to be filmed in 70mm IMAX in its entirety – oh yes, one of the defining texts of western culture captured in the best image quality ever! You shouldn’t expect, however a 100% faithful (and consequently uncritical) adaptation of Homer’s text. A Nolan adaptation has always been synonym with creative freedom… and in this way also synonymous with excellence, risk-taking, great cast, and epic scale (which fits this film like a glove!). In a world of generative AI, and dominating computer generated images, Nolan’s films are revolutionary human. Everything you see was done in camera, by people: explosions, giants, fighting in the thousands… it was all there, which gives the film a refreshing tactile quality often amiss in modern cinema.
The longevity and continuous relevance of a text like The Odyssey lies in the universality of its themes: love, loyalty, war, trauma, homesickness… And with the help of a fantastic cast and crew, Nolan brings all of these themes to this new adaptation, making this a rewarding film for audiences at different stages of their lives - who will surely engage with the film in unique ways.
From the 17th to the 30th of July, I will be navigating the Ancient seas, from Ithaca, to Troy, to the Dukes, to watch, surely multiple times, this fantastic film. I invite you to join in this epic journey, and who knows, if we are lucky, we might find ourselves inside a giant wooden horse!
Written by João Eduardo Lima Belchior
