Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated The Odyssey has arrived in cinemas. Odysseus has had the bright idea of using a Trojan horse to win the war against Troy for the Greeks, in the ancient myth. Then he heads home. Quite a lot happens along the way.
Critics have mostly all used superlatives to describe this film’s portrayal of Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War, running that gauntlet of legendary and terrifying obstacles: the Cyclops, the Sirens, the witch Circe and the nymph Calypso. Aside from the fact that Nolan is master of cinema and we know Matt Damon’s rough ride back to his island of Ithaca will be shown splendidly using IMAX cameras, what is it about this story from nearly 3,000 years ago that has seen it never grow old?
Based on the Homer’s ancient Greek epic, the film boasts a host of stars including Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Elliot Page and Robert Pattison.
Patrick O’Sullivan is an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in Greek culture, art and the literary reception of myth from Homer to Euripides. He joins Jim fresh after seeing the film.
