Last week I saw an extended trailer for The Odyssey, showing the Trojan Horse scene, and apart from Bane’s accent, it might be the first time I’ve ever been charmed by a Christopher Nolan movie.
It’s got what you expect from Nolan’s movies — impeccable art direction, and the novelty of “Hey, it’s Matt Damon! There’s Spider-Man! Look, The Punisher!” And it’s done with the weight and gravity that Nolan and his fans believe his epics are due; it’s all played straight. Or at least, as straight as you can be with dozens of shirtless, sweaty, beardy guys piled on top of each other and grunting.
The part that was charming was how silly it all was. The horse looks rad as hell! But then we get shot after shot of all the guys tumbling around and squeezing against each other as they tell you the story all about how this horse got flipped, turned upside down. The whole time they’re giving Matt Damon the side-eye like “oh geez was this the best idea?” or “Are you sure this mythological story element was ever something that was intended to be depicted literally?”
Don’t get me wrong; I’m almost certainly going to see it. But it does all seem a little unnecessary, since the story of Odysseus has already been adapted plenty of times.
My favorite is O Brother, Where Art Thou? because it’s as funny as it is pretty, and it’s got great songs like “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” by Dan Tyminski and the Soggy Bottom Boys.
It may not be the most faithful adaptation, but it’s got sirens and an attack from a giant one-eyed monster, and a guy getting turned into an animal (in retrospect, “we thought you was a pig” may have been a funnier line), and that’s pretty much all I know from the original anyway. But then, as I understand it, the Trojan Horse scene shown in Nolan’s The Odyssey didn’t actually show up fully until The Aeneid, so who’s to say what’s a faithful adaptation?
And more importantly, does it even need a faithful adaptation? I can guarantee I enjoyed reading Madeline Miller’s Circe more than I’d ever enjoy its sources.
And I’ve never seen the French-Japanese anime series Ulysses 31, although as a citizen of the internet, I have of course heard the theme song countless times. Based on what I know about 1980s anime TV, I’m highly skeptical the actual series would be my thing if I tried to watch it now. (Watching Battle of the Planets or Star Blazers as an adult was just an exercise in masochism). But it’s neat to look at something and be able to say, “Oh, so that’s why Daft Punk exists!”
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