Christopher Nolan’s *The Odyssey* was released in Korea yesterday.
The original is an epic poem nearly 3,000 years old.
It makes you wonder why such an old story keeps returning to the screen so often.
3-Line Summary
1. *The Odyssey* is an epic poem about returning home after a war.
2. It has 24 books and begins in the middle of the story.
3. Its episodes are self-contained, making it well suited to adaptation.
The Plot Can Be Summed Up in One Sentence
It is a story about going home.
The Trojan War has ended, and Odysseus, a Greek commander, is trying to return to his home of Ithaca. But he cannot get back. He drifts at sea, encounters monsters, and is held captive. It takes 10 years.
Meanwhile, something else is happening in Ithaca. With the king not returning, men from the surrounding area have gathered to demand that Queen Penelope remarry, while draining the wealth of the royal household. His son Telemachus is still too young to have the power to drive them out.
In other words, the story is structured so that the stories of the person who left and the people who remained run alongside each other and meet at the end. It is remembered only as an adventure story, but half of it takes place at home.
There Is a Separate Story Before It
There is a separate work about the Trojan War itself: *The Iliad*, also handed down under the name of Homer.
*The Iliad* covers only part of the final year of the 10-year war. It begins with Achilles becoming angry and withdrawing from the front, and depicts events that take place over several dozen days. The fall of Troy through the wooden horse does not appear in *The Iliad*.
The two works also have different characters. If the former is a story of the battlefield, the latter is a story of the sea and the home. They could be described as a story about how to fight and a story about how to return. This difference also contributes to *The Odyssey* being adapted more often.
It Begins in the Middle of the Story
*The Odyssey* consists of 24 books. Yet its first book does not depict the end of the Trojan War.
At the opening, Odysseus has already been held on an island for several years. Much of his adventure has already happened. That earlier story is later told by Odysseus himself before other people.
This method of beginning in the middle of a story has a name: *in medias res*, in Latin. Films and dramas still commonly use this structure today, because the situation is urgent from the beginning and can easily draw in an audience.
That technique was already present in a text from 3,000 years ago. It is one reason this work continues to be referenced.
Why Does It Keep Becoming a Movie?
Three factors overlap.
First, the episodes are self-contained. A one-eyed giant, Sirens who lure sailors with their songs, and a witch who turns people into beasts. Each scene works even when separated from the rest. When condensing the story into a two-hour film, it is easier to choose what to keep and what to leave out.
Second, there is no copyright. The original is a shared cultural asset, so there is no need to purchase adaptation rights. Anyone can create it through their own interpretation, and in practice the results have been completely different from one another.
Third, the themes do not grow old. Can a person who went to war return and reclaim their former place? What did the person who protected the home experience in the meantime? Change only the setting, and these questions work in any era.
The same is true in literature. James Joyce’s *Ulysses* moves the structure of this epic poem to Dublin over the course of a single day. Ulysses is the Roman name for Odysseus.
This Film
It was made by Universal Pictures, with Matt Damon playing Odysseus. Tom Holland plays his son Telemachus, while Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, and Lupita Nyong’o are also listed in the cast.
There is one technically notable point. Every scene was shot with IMAX film cameras. It has been reported to be the first commercial film to shoot every scene this way.
IMAX film cameras capture a great deal of image information, but they are heavy and noisy. So they are generally used only for major scenes, with other cameras used for the rest. Shooting everything with these cameras means the filming approach itself was tailored to them.
It was released in Korea on August 5. It opened earlier in the United States on July 17.
What Is Helpful to Know Before Watching
It is enough to keep the character relationships straight: Odysseus, his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. These three are the central axis.
It is also worth keeping in mind that the order may be mixed up. The original itself does not proceed in chronological order, so that structure may remain in an adaptation.
You do not need to read the original before going. This story was originally not read as writing, but heard. Before it was fixed in written form, it was recited before audiences, so it was made to be followable even if you do not already know it.
The fact that the same story has survived for 3,000 years means it has continued to be useful.
A story about someone who wants to go home but cannot never feels like someone else’s story.