This is what you need to know before you see The Odyssey

You’ve probably heard of The Odyssey. Maybe the story was once on your reading list in high school or there’s a yellowed copy gathering dust somewhere in your father’s bookshelf. Even if you don’t know it by name, you’ve likely heard parts of the story without knowing where they come from. Does the Trojan Horse sound familiar? Exactly. It all comes from the same story: The Odyssey by Homer. Although this story is 2700 years old, it is anything but dusty when Christopher Nolan takes it on. In fact, at a time when we seem to owe every spectacular image to CGI and AI, Nolan opts for real ships, real seas, and thousands of extras walking through real sandstorms. Before you sit down for this three-hour film, there are a few things that are good to know. So… from one film lover to another: this is everything you want to know before you see The Odyssey.

What is The Odyssey about?

The story revolves around Odysseus, the king of the Greek island of Ithaca. He has fought for ten years in the Trojan War and after the victory, he really wants just one thing: to go home. There, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus are waiting for him. However, that journey home doesn’t go as planned. What should have taken a few weeks ends up taking Odysseus another ten years.

This is partly due to himself. Although Odysseus is intelligent and brave, he is also proud, stubborn, and not good at keeping his mouth shut. When the cyclops Polyphemus asks for his name, he can’t help but reveal his true name. This doesn’t end well, as Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, who then wants to thwart him. Along the way, Odysseus has to deal with various problems, such as the sorceress Circe, deadly sirens, the sea monster Scylla, and the all-consuming whirlpool Charybdis. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, at one point he is held captive on an island by the immortal nymph Calypso, who has fallen in love with him.

Back home in Ithaca, Penelope is surrounded by men who think Odysseus is dead and want to marry her. They stay in the palace and try to take control of the kingdom. Telemachus wants to search for answers himself. He decides to go find his father.

You absolutely need to know these characters

Matt Damon plays Odysseus and Anne Hathaway is seen as his wife Penelope. Tom Holland plays their son Telemachus, who grows up without his father at the beginning of the story and slowly has to take his place as the future king.

Zendaya has the role of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war and one of Odysseus's main protectors. She regularly tries to help him out of trouble and also assists Telemachus during his quest. Robert Pattinson plays Antinous, the most dominant and dangerous of Penelope's suitors. Charlize Theron is Calypso, Samantha Morton plays Circe, and Lupita Nyong’o portrays both Helen of Troy and her half-sister Clytaemnestra.

Additionally, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, John Leguizamo, and Himesh Patel are among the cast. Even Travis Scott appears as the court singer Demodocus. It doesn’t get crazier than that.

Almost everything you see is real

Now we come to the part that really makes my film heart race. The Odyssey was filmed over 91 shooting days in locations including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland, and the United States. The production moved to a new country every few weeks, allowing the actors and crew to literally make the same exhausting journey as the characters in the story. Some filming locations could only be reached after long hikes that lasted hours. And that Trojan Horse? It was no computer trick. Nolan had several enormous versions built and used thousands of costumed extras during battle and city scenes. For one large scene, about 1200 people were on set at the same time. That’s really unusual these days.

The sea scenes were largely filmed at sea. The ship on which Odysseus and his crew sail actually sailed across the Mediterranean Sea. For the cyclops, a combination of an actor, puppets, animatronics, and digital effects was used, instead of a fully digital monster. Even the enormous whirlpool was practically simulated by having boats sail in circles at full speed for hours. And that might be the most impressive thing about this film. Of course, digital effects were used; without them, a story full of gods and monsters simply wouldn’t work. But they support what has been created on set, rather than replacing everything. While the film world is fully debating AI-generated actors, environments, and extras, Nolan puts thousands of real people on a beach and sends Matt Damon with a camera into the real sea. It’s incredibly expensive and complicated and probably quite miserable for everyone on set at times. But you can feel the difference.

The film has quite a Dutch touch

Behind the camera, alongside Christopher Nolan, is also the Dutch cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who has become a regular creative partner of Nolan. They previously collaborated on Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, and Oppenheimer. This is their fifth joint film, and we are honestly quite proud of that.

And our Dutch contribution didn’t stop there. For the complicated sea shoots, the help of Klaas Post, owner of a specialized boat company from Urk, was enlisted again. Post had previously worked with Nolan on Dunkirk and Tenet. For The Odyssey, six fast RIB boats were shipped from the Netherlands to Sicily and later to Scotland. They were not the historical ships you see as Odysseus's fleet, but without these Dutch boats, the scenes probably wouldn’t have been possible. They transported actors, stunt people, camera crews, equipment, and props over the water. On the busiest days, about a thousand people had to be safely moved. Because these boats were used during the whirlpool scene, the production specifically wanted to work with the Dutch crew. Because if there’s one thing we’re good at, it’s sailing on the water.

So. That was a lot of information. But good: now you’re a lot better prepared for that three-hour film. This way, you won’t spend the first half hour with all sorts of questions about what has actually happened. Now I’m going to reserve tickets right away because this film? I don’t want to miss it.

Image: The Odyssey – Universal pictures