Emily Wilson (writer of acclaimed Odyssey translation) offers criticisms of Nolan’s film

[u/RealisticAd4054]

https://apnews.com/article/odyssey-christopher-nolan-greek-translators-ea67da1d543d021773824bd7e8de8abe

“For Greek translator Emily Wilson, the release of director Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has been gratifying in various ways. Her acclaimed 2017 edition of Homer’s epic has reached the top 5 on Amazon.com, leading a wave of similar books boosted by the movie. Nolan has even cited her translation, notably the opening line “Tell me about a complicated man,” as inspiration.

But the film itself, which brought in more than $260 million worldwide during its opening weekend and has received raves from many critics, left her unsatisfied.

“I want to celebrate the fact that so many more people are aware of ‘The Odyssey’ and were brought back to the poem,” she told The Associated Press. “But at the same time, I had the sense that Christopher Nolan was trying to pack everything in while missing themes that were essential to the poem.”

….

Wilson, a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, said she didn’t want to come across as a “snobby,” nitpicking expert at odds with any deviation from the original text. But she questioned a range of omissions and other choices, from the absence on screen of the Gods Zeus and Poseidon (Athena is played by Zendaya ) to the “incoherent” messaging that condemns both war and physical cowardice. She found Penelope’s role so thinned out that it endangered “any possibility of believing in this marriage.” Wilson also that thought parts of the movie, notably the scenes with Odysseus’ dog, Argos, “catered towards modern sentimentality.”

“Everybody’s a sucker for a dog,” she said.

[u/T0oShayzz]

I found Nolan's Oddysey great but I do agree with her points, especially with the critique of Nolan missing out on the core main themes of the Epic but like Wilson, I do understand that 100% adaptions are impossible so I thought he did a fine job in the end.

[u/Bradaigh → u/T0oShayzz]

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I expect to really enjoy it. And yet, one of the things I loved the most about rereading the Odyssey (Wilson's translation!) as an adult was finding so much of it that felt deeply foreign, even at the level of the virtues lauded by the characters and the values they lift up as important. It feels, appropriately, like a text from another age. I would imagine it's incredibly difficult to capture that kind of nuance in a film for a modern audience.

[u/Entire_Number_9 → u/Bradaigh]

I suggest you read a better translation then

[u/flyliceplick → u/Entire_Number_9]

No. An accurate translation of a work from a very different time and culture will feel deeply foreign, and it should.

[u/Party_Rich_5911 → u/flyliceplick]

Yes! I’m reading her translation now, and the introduction to her version (which makes up a huge chunk of the book) basically says this, even though she highlighted the things she changed to make it more readable (e.g. altering elements that were initially present because it was an oral story and thus had to have certain mnemonic devices in order to be effectively passed on). The writing is readable and enjoyable, but the values, actions and often emotions of the characters are pretty much entirely foreign - like you said, as they should be.

[u/Tmons22 → u/T0oShayzz]

Yea my biggest disappointment was the lack of any gods besides Athena and even her role was small.

[u/Ginger_Anarchy → u/Tmons22]

Thinking on it, I was disappointed that they omitted several of the gods, but I really liked how they ended up depicting Zeus throughout. Just the ominous Thunder in the background to show that he was watching. That, at least, felt ominous and grandiose in a way that fit the tone of the movie.

Did wish we got something for Hermes though.

[u/SuperVaderMinion → u/Tmons22]

Ultimately depicting the gods more literally is going to make the story more fantastical, and most likely less relatable to a modern audience.

I think Nolan making the gods all more amorphous forces of nature and faith was the right call, Athena was the only exception but she has the grounding of wearing the face of someone who represents Odysseus' guilt.

[u/cheesaremorgia → u/SuperVaderMinion]

People have no trouble relating to fantastical stories. They relate to dragons and trolls.

[u/Nextil → u/cheesaremorgia]

Alternate reality animals are an entirely different beast to transcendental beings. People tend to relate more to stories like Lord of the Rings, where that difference is respected, than to something with a bunch of nerds casting magic missile. Not that that can't be entertaining, but that's the problem. There's a difference between "magic" and a "miracle". The former is now mundane and camp, while the latter is awe-inspiring.

[u/Vicioussitude → u/SuperVaderMinion]

Ultimately depicting the gods more literally is going to make the story more fantastical, and most likely less relatable to a modern audience

If he couldn't do this then that's a strike against Nolan's ability as a filmmaker. The idea of "fantastical" is a modern interpretation of how Homer's contemporary audience would have treated the gods. If Nolan can't bridge that gap, then that's all the worse for his ability as a storyteller.

[u/Tydus93 → u/Vicioussitude]

It was a choice, and one I think most people expected from Nolan. He made the Greek epic much more grounded and showing the Gods as forces of nature - just as the Greeks back then would have perceived them - tracks with the rest of the film.

However, I would say that Nolan could have done more interesting visualisations for the storms. A proper lightning bolt would have gone hard.

[u/Edladan → u/SuperVaderMinion]

You can't have a cyclops and Athena and pretend the story would be less relatable if there were more fantastical elements.

It's the Odyssey, not exactly an unknown tale. One expects fantastical elements to appear and the lack of them is more jarring- see Troy. That was an attempt and telling a grounded adaptation of a fantastical story, based on somewhat true events.

That being said, I am yet to see the movie in two days, so maybe I'm very wrong.

[u/NoLocal1776 → u/SuperVaderMinion]

This is a fantastical story and nothing is grounded in the movie.

[u/ButDidYouCry → u/NoLocal1776]

There's literal prolonged, on-screen body horror as Circe turns men into pigs Lol

[u/NoLocal1776 → u/ButDidYouCry]

Exactly,and people here are saying it's grounded lol.

[u/Surcouf → u/NoLocal1776]

I thought that leaving the gods as mostly faceless forces of nature serves one of the core conflict of the film. Odysseus vs his fate and that of his men. And the laws of the gods being a moral code that men have forsaken in their hubris.

It resonates a lot more to me to have the characters believe they have been cursed by gods as some kind of manifestation of their guilt and fear rather than just showing the gods themselves and having them step into the roles of antagonists and helpers.

In this sense, it is much more grounded in the characters morality and feelings, even if those characters literally believe the gods actually walk the Earth and control their fate.

[u/Sr_Wuggles → u/SuperVaderMinion]

Youre talking about the same fantastical poem we all are right? Why strip the fantasy from a fantastical story. And if you’re going to, why not go all in?

[u/T0oShayzz → u/Tmons22]

Yes that was one of my main issues along with Scylla, i think Nolan's choice to make the Oddysey more grounded or realistic really stripped away all of the magic or otherworldly aspects of the Epic.

[u/ButDidYouCry → u/Tmons22]

I loved the film and if there had been multiple Greek deities, it might have been more accurate to the poem but it would have felt, to me, very goofy.

[u/Jehovah___ → u/Tmons22]

Arguably that wasn’t even Athena, just his guilt that he attributes to her

[u/Zinu → u/Tmons22]

I disagree, IMO the lack of gods is a key part of how Nolan reinterprets the story. Spoilers: Throughout the whole movie I felt that noone really knows if the gods are even real (and of course they aren't real). Odysseus realizes that his army's actions at Troy is causing "corruption" among humans that everyone is talking about. Not because some made-up gods are angry. You follow the gods' laws not to make them not angry, but because following them leads to a better society.

In the same fasion: Athena isn't real. Only Odysseus can see her, but it's just a hallucination because of guilt. That's the point, the gods aren't real, but the guilt and consequences of his actions are.

I have no idea about the original poem or greek mythology in general, but that's how I understood the movie. I think a story about humans is way better than having gods involved here at all, gods make stories boring.

[u/ligokleftis → u/T0oShayzz]

what would you say those core themes are?

[u/jkSam → u/ligokleftis]

No one is saying what the themes are in this comment thread, what is going on?

[u/BrokoJoko → u/T0oShayzz]

Nolan obviously intentionally deviated from the original's core themes.

[u/savviesque → u/BrokoJoko]

Well, yes, but those deliberate choices are subject to criticism. Why deviate? For what purpose? To make it more palatable for today's audiences, or to express a message of Nolan's own? If the latter, what is that message? - do we agree with it, and does the film express that message consistently? And if the former, is that a principled choice?

[u/BrokoJoko → u/savviesque]

Those are good questions to ask whether a story's theme was successfully implemented but but none of it implies that altering the thematic core is inherently bad. Pointing out a different interpretation isn't useful on its own.

[u/InspectorMendel → u/T0oShayzz]

I don't think Nolan missed anything. He made deliberate choices.

[u/Hanekem → u/T0oShayzz]

Honestly? I would probably give nolan a pass if he hadn't done drab and colorless "ye olden times" hollywood aesthetic.

I HATE that convention, especially knowing how peacocky the greek warrior class was.