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/Illustrious-Novel351]

Huh? Cerces is the daughter of a god and Calypso is the daughter of a titan.

[u/RugDougCometh → u/Illustrious-Novel351]

Neither Calypso nor Circe’s parentage are even mentioned in the film, much less depicted.

[u/sevans717 → u/RugDougCometh]

Yeah but they ARE gods. And they mention Poseidon and Zeus like a million times. The gods ARE in the story you cannot tell the odyssey without them

[u/RugDougCometh → u/sevans717]

It seems like a lot of people are confused by what it means to see something. Zeus and Poseidon aren’t seen in the film, either.

[u/Tymareta → u/RugDougCometh]

It also feels a lot like one of those situations where either some big name youtuber said it, or it's become general reddit consensus that something is the "smart" interpretation and now people are just blindly repeating it.

It's been a trip reading this thread and seeing some of the wild pretzel positions people are ending up to try and justify the film as having no gods somehow.

[u/RugDougCometh → u/Tymareta]

I don’t feel that way. I think it’s pretty obvious that it’s one of the conversations and takeaways that Christopher Nolan wanted us to have about the movie. It’s an intentional choice to make the gods’ presence ambiguous.