Christopher Nolan adapts Homer's epic: 'The Odyssey' opens in cinemas

In the title role of Odysseus, audiences see Matt Damon. The actor told the German Press Agency that he identifies with the character because 'Er trifft nicht immer die richtige Entscheidung. Er steht sich selbst im Weg. Und er muss sehr stark mit den Konsequenzen seiner Handlungen leben.' As Penelope, Odysseus's wife, Anne Hathaway appears, waiting for the suitors in Ithaca to be driven out – men who, during his absence, attempt to seize power and force Penelope to marry.

Star cast and roles

The son Telemachus is portrayed by Tom Holland. The leader of the suitors, Antinous, who wants to take Odysseus's place as ruler of Ithaca, is played by Robert Pattinson in what the article calls a 'grandios fiese Doppelzüngigkeit'. The Greek goddess Athena, who accompanies Odysseus on his journey home, is played by Zendaya, who has adopted so-called method dressing during the press tour, reflecting the role even in her fashion choices.

Further central roles are filled by Charlize Theron as Calypso, who holds Odysseus in exile for seven years; Samantha Morton as the sorceress Circe, who turns his men into pigs; Lupita Nyong'o in a dual role as Helen and Clytemnestra; Benny Safdie as Agamemnon; Jon Bernthal as Menelaus; John Leguizamo as Eumaeus; Himesh Patel as Odysseus's deputy Eurylochus; Mia Goth as Melantho; and Elliot Page in a male role as the Greek warrior Sinon. In the prologue, rapper Travis Scott also appears as the bard Phemius.

Narrative structure and filming locations

The film is structured as an episodic drama whose chronology Nolan deliberately disrupts, allowing Odysseus to review his adventures through flashbacks and flashes of memory. Among the episodes are the battle against the Cyclops Polyphemus, the encounter with the Laestrygonians, the confrontation with Circe, and the descent into the underworld Hades. Rather than in the pathos-laden style of old Hollywood tradition, the characters speak in modern American English.

Filming took place at original locations in the Mediterranean region, Scotland and Iceland, as well as partly in Prague and London. 'The Odyssey' is produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film score is by the composer described as Swedish, Ludwig Göransson, a three-time Oscar winner. The costume design is by Ellen Mirojnick.

IMAX and analog film camera

The camera was directed by the Dutch cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who previously collaborated with Nolan on 'Tenet' and 'Interstellar' and received an Oscar for 'Oppenheimer.' 'The Odyssey' marks their fifth joint project. Van Hoytema and Nolan shot with an analog IMAX film camera; Nolan has used the IMAX format in every film since 'The Dark Knight.' According to the present text, this format contains more than twice as much image information as the conventional 35-millimetre format.

The film has a running time of just under three hours. It can be seen in 70-millimetre IMAX projection only at the Vienna Gartenbaukino, the Innsbruck Leokino, and in Prague. According to the text, Nolan directs the source material with 'großer formaler Schlagkraft'. The literary source itself, the 'Odyssey,' is considered a work that may have been written around 800 BC by Homer or other poets and is thus nearly three thousand years old.

Cinema release and distribution conditions

The cinema release takes place in a strictly regulated environment. Universal Pictures imposed a hard press embargo, under which all reviews could appear only simultaneously with the cinema release. It was also publicly declared that no influencers would see the film in advance. Nevertheless, according to available statistics, the announcement clip was viewed approximately 50 million times on YouTube.

Also specifically mentioned around the release is that commentators such as Elon Musk publicly commented on the casting of Lupita Nyong'o in the role of Helen. Nolan's style is characterised in the present text as that of a 'Popcorn-Autorenfilmer Christopher Nolan,' who uses cinema to show that he 'will es wissen'. 'The Odyssey' is described with the subtitle 'Heimkehr mit Hindernissen' as a work 'mit viel Hollywood-Prominenz'.

Further releases on 16 July

Alongside 'The Odyssey,' further films also open on 16 July according to the present text. Named are the elaborate work 'Ninja Motherf*cking Destruction' by director Lotta Schwerk, who needed eight years for its realisation and originally began the project in 2018 with friends as a coming-of-age short film, as well as 'So klingt das Leben,' set on Spain's northern coast and in which seven fishermen lost their lives in a shipwreck. Also opening is 'We'll Find Happiness,' which tells the protagonist Reza's flight after a denunciation across several European train stations to Canada, where he falls in love with the Moroccan Saad.

In its original version, Nolan's adaptation presents a cinematic counterpart to the previous screen history of the material: while 'Troy' loosely follows the Iliad and Andrei Konchalovsky's 'The Odyssey' of 1997 was a Russian TV two-parter with Armand Assante, Nolan takes the route of an elaborate IMAX production that traces the entire arc from Troy to the homecoming and the battle against the suitors.

In German arthouse cinemas, the film is shown comprehensively in digital versions according to the present text; the exact 70-mm IMAX projection – precisely as Nolan shot the film – remains reserved for the three named venues.