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An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

lrb.co.uk

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Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#61

Post by keiferski »

izacus wrote: post #58
jf wrote: post #49

When I read a critique that could roughly be summarized as "I could have done better" my response generally falls somewhere between "you should" and "I'd like to see you try". Not everyone understands just how hard it is to create something from nothing, so I can excuse a certain level of ignorance in a critic. But I find it very disappointing when a critic does understand how hard it is in their domain, but isn't ab…

This is the person who created one of the translations this movie is based on (arguably THE translation Nolan based it on), so they - literally as it goes - indeed have tried and done better.

Except the translation is not very good and dumbs down a lot of the language to fit the translator’s worldview.

I’d say Wilson did “try to do it herself,” and it’s not much better than the film. Hence this critical review is a bit unnecessary, frankly.

I say this as a subscriber to the LRB, which has at least one snarky put down review every issue.

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#62

Post by jrimbault »

jf wrote: post #49

When I read a critique that could roughly be summarized as "I could have done better" my response generally falls somewhere between "you should" and "I'd like to see you try". Not everyone understands just how hard it is to create something from nothing, so I can excuse a certain level of ignorance in a critic. But I find it very disappointing when a critic does understand how hard it is in their domain, but isn't ab…

How do you get 'roughly be summarized as "I could have done better"' from this critique? Nowhere does she say something vaguely like that.

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#63

Post by keiferski »

DaedalusII wrote: post #57

"A complicated man" is a stupid translation in the first place Polytropos means: a man of many twists and turns, describing simultaneously a person who has traveled widely and been "turned" by many hardships and places, as well as someone whose mind is clever, resourceful, versatile, and cunning enough to turn any situation to their advantage Or as W2 academics chasing book reviews and podcasts slots translate: "a co…

It’s a shame Michael Fassbender wasn’t in the running, as his character in The Agency is kind of exactly how I imagined Odysseus: clever, with a heart for the people he cares about but absolutely brutal against people he doesn’t need.

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#64

Post by warrenmiller »

antonvs wrote: post #47
nickcw wrote: post #39

[after a pretty scathing review which I mostly agree with] > Despite all this, the release of The Odyssey is still an event to celebrate. In what we are told is the streaming era, this epic is bringing audiences back to cinemas. In what we are told is a time of declining literacy and the ‘death of the humanities’, translations of The Odyssey, including mine, are flying off the shelves. Some of those who buy the book…

> "doing his best to get the general public reading again" This seems very detached from reality. I very much doubt that many people seeing a movie like this will think "oh, I should read The Odyssey", or "I should read more." And most people who try the former are unlikely to get very far.

They are

“ Nevertheless, Wilson acknowledged the impact the film is already having on cultural awareness of ancient Greek literature as well as cinema itself. Saying “the release of The Odyssey is still an event to celebrate,” she suggests: “This epic is bringing audiences back to cinemas … translations of Odyssey, including mine, are flying off the shelves … [and] perhaps the film will persuade a few college administrators not to cut their literature, language and history departments.”

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jul/27/odyssey-transla...

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#65

Post by jrimbault »

krige wrote: post #37
w0de0 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She’s not a lit critic, rather a classicist and the author of the most popular recent translations of Homer.

Also one of the most controversial translations, if memory serves.

It's not controversial. It's only controversial in the culture wars part of the world. There has been some critics* of her translation among classicists, but not _controversies_.

*: which is only natural, that's their job to criticize each others' translations

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#66

Post by jrimbault »

ks2048 wrote: post #59

[spoiler alert] > The Trojans are dehumanised by their masks; we know none of them by name or face. Did she miss the most important scene in the burning of Troy that showed a Trojan victim's face that plays an important role the film?

Athena/PTSD-girl being the only Trojan with a face doesn't dismiss that affirmation, only reinforces it. And she writes about her in another paragraph.

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#67

Post by DaedalusII »

keiferski wrote: post #63
DaedalusII wrote: post #57

"A complicated man" is a stupid translation in the first place Polytropos means: a man of many twists and turns, describing simultaneously a person who has traveled widely and been "turned" by many hardships and places, as well as someone whose mind is clever, resourceful, versatile, and cunning enough to turn any situation to their advantage Or as W2 academics chasing book reviews and podcasts slots translate: "a co…

It’s a shame Michael Fassbender wasn’t in the running, as his character in The Agency is kind of exactly how I imagined Odysseus: clever, with a heart for the people he cares about but absolutely brutal against people he doesn’t need.

maybe like this, gary oldman 1990s would have been good. there needs to be a feeling of some edge or at least mystery, depth

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#68

Post by phoronixrly »

jf wrote: post #49

When I read a critique that could roughly be summarized as "I could have done better" my response generally falls somewhere between "you should" and "I'd like to see you try". Not everyone understands just how hard it is to create something from nothing, so I can excuse a certain level of ignorance in a critic. But I find it very disappointing when a critic does understand how hard it is in their domain, but isn't ab…

> Emily Wilson is a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Mocked with Death: Tragic Overliving from Sophocles to Milton, The Death of Socrates and a biography of Seneca. She has also translated Seneca and Euripides as well as both the Iliad and the Odyssey.

It seems to me they did indeed try, and you didn't even check who the author was.

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#69

Post by 2Pacalypse- »

izacus wrote: post #55
beloch wrote: post #32

"But the representation of Odysseus as a reluctant warlord makes a nonsense of the movie’s imagined world. We are not shown that war or killing are bad, only that good men sometimes feel bad about it – a very different point. Any serious depiction of violence, ancient or modern, must show the perspectives of the victims as well as the perpetrators, and the Homeric poems easily clear the bar – but Nolan doesn’t. The T…

> Were Odysseus played as written, modern audiences would have a very hard time empathizing with him. That's the real challenge to successfully adapting the Odyssey. When reading the original, you have abundant time to get into the mental space of the bronze age Achaeans. In a three hour movie that's a lot harder to do. And this is the strongest criticism of this movie - Nolan took the easy way out of just shoving th…

> Looks pretty though.

Does it though? Somehow Nolan made the mediterranean climate and Aegean sea look like washed out coast of Scotland or something. What's with the Hollywood's attack on color lately?

Re: An Uncomplicated Man – A review of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan

#70

Post by keiferski »

DaedalusII wrote: post #67
keiferski wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a shame Michael Fassbender wasn’t in the running, as his character in The Agency is kind of exactly how I imagined Odysseus: clever, with a heart for the people he cares about but absolutely brutal against people he doesn’t need.

maybe like this, gary oldman 1990s would have been good. there needs to be a feeling of some edge or at least mystery, depth

I think it was more because of the Nolan script. Damon is capable of playing that kind of character; see The Talented Mr. Ripley, for example.
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