The Odyssey

Homer’s Odyssey is an epic poem thousands of years old, first told orally, and then written down around the 6th century BCE. The story is that of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who played a pivotal part in the conquest and destruction of Troy at the end of the Trojan War. After the 10 year war ends, Odysseus and his men begin the arduous journey across the Adriatic Sea toward home. The journey, which should be relatively straightforward, ends up taking another 10 years, mainly because of interference from the gods. Odysseus makes an enemy of Poseidon, god of the sea, which makes the journey difficult. Odysseus is clever, wily, and smart, and various goddesses want to make sexy time with him, preferably keeping him handy for years at a time.

Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, is left to rule the kingdom and raise their son, Telemachus, while at the same time fending off the hundred+ suitors wishing to take the kingdom for themselves by forcing Penelope to marry one of them.

Ted and I saw the new film version, The Odyssey, the other day, and we both really enjoyed it. Alas, it was no longer on our local theater’s IMAX screen, as we had waited too long and the new Spider-Man movie had that screen. Nonetheless, the cinematography and effects were stunning. Ted was especially enraptured by the special effects, as they were created old-school, not using CGI. It’s breathtaking and lends so much to the film.

I had a few issues with the film, though they were based on my having read the Odyssey in graduate school, so some things jumped out at me. It’s been a long time now, but I don’t remember long battle scenes. I guess you can’t show the horrors of war without showing war, but those were kind of boring for me. The ending has more in common with Tennyson’s Ulysses than Homer’s Odyssey. Also, Odysseus seemed to me to have zero lust and verve, and did not seem a wily trickster, which is how he is so often described in the book. This version of the Odyssey is made for today’s audiences, so his character’s more complicated contradictions are smoothed over. This is a movie for today, the characters seem to be dealing with PTSD and regret and more modern sensibilities. I think this is an interesting take, and there’s nothing wrong with it. But because the visuals were so classical, it threw things off a bit. These changes did not ruin the film for me, but they kept it from being an A+ experience. Nonetheless, highly recommended.

Side note about books – I went out and bought Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey, since I had given my old version that I read in grad school away. This is why getting rid of books is stupid, right? 2026 J is grumpy with 2025 J about her ‘one thing a day’ decluttering project. Still, interesting to read the newer translation. I will report on this to the 0.5% of you who might care. For now, I’m re-reading Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, which is Penelope’s story, and that of the maids who are murdered in the original book, but not so much in the kinder, gentler film. I thought I had given that away, but thankfully no. I’m also thinking about re-reading Miller’s Circe and maybe The Song of Achilles and the Illiad. I guess this means that the film really got me thinking about this story that has stuck in the collective unconscious for thousands of years. Nicely done.