Is Nolan’s "The Odyssey" more realistic, or Cüneyt Arkın’s Trambolini?

Christopher Nolan. This name is synonymous with mind-bending narratives, an obsession with practical effects, and a pursuit of “realism.” I am referring to the man who collaborated with scientists to depict black hole physics in Interstellar and flew actual wartime aircraft in Dunkirk.

Clearly, my reaction upon watching the trailer resembled the sudden shock and alienation I felt when my then-girlfriend, during our cinema viewing of Dunkirk, panicked at the hyper-realistic engine noises and cried, “These aircraft scenes are too much for me—let’s leave,” before fleeing the theater. The only difference: then we were awestruck by Nolan’s genius; now, the shock was so overwhelming we wanted to close our YouTube tab. When the trailer for the director’s latest project, The Odyssey, was released, confusion was not enough—the scene before us had transformed into an ancient Greek tragedy.

It seems Nolan’s famed obsession with time has backfired this time, transporting us from the Bronze Age straight into an era of “What on earth is this?”

^{One poster from The Odyssey -} odysseymovie

^{Another poster from the film -} odysseymovie

Nolan’s meticulousness regarding music is well known. His directive to Ludwig Göransson was clear:^【1】 “There were no orchestras back then. This was both a challenge and an opportunity to create something unique.” How noble, how authentic, right? Yet Travis Scott portrays a character in the film. Perhaps the orchestra-less score will be enriched by Travis Scott’s autotuned whispers :)

The soldiers standing before us are not clad in bronze armor as described in Homer’s epic, but as if they had been cast from the dark forge of the Middle Ages. In declaring that “there were no orchestras back then,” Nolan seems to have forgotten that iron casting technology was not widespread in the Bronze Age. Or perhaps a temporal distortion granted the soldiers a future order for armor—who knows?

This selective approach to realism continues in the casting. I saw Lupita Nyong’o portraying Helen of Troy, whom Homer described as a “white-armed” beauty whose allure launched a thousand ships.^【2】 Let me remind you: she is Black.

But the real bombshell is Achilles. The greatest warrior of Greek mythology, the demigod Achilles, is portrayed by Elliot Page. After Brad Pitt’s muscular, imposing portrayal in the 2004 film Troy, Elliot Page’s slighter, more delicate stance evokes not a terrifying hero of the battlefield, but a recent graduate from a philosophy seminar. Perhaps Nolan’s Achilles will defeat his enemies not with swords, but with existential anguish.

Moreover, the colossal enemies we encounter are another absurdity. Mythical creatures are fine, but this film has turned into a fantastical farce that contradicts Nolan’s claim to realism. The strange, bony helmet adornments seen in the trailer are no exception. Where is ancient Greek aesthetics? Where is this Gothic fantasy?

Recall the timeless cult classic The Man Who Saved the World by the late Cüneyt Arkın. Arkın, who smuggled in Star Wars scenes and sliced apart cardboard monsters made of plush with the ease of cracking a cracker, never sold us intellectual pretensions. He did not give interviews saying, “I’m chasing historical authenticity, so I didn’t use an orchestra,” while secretly doing other things behind the scenes. What we saw was what we got—a honest fantasy.

^{The Man Who Saved the World Trailer -} muvizi

When we look at the contradictions Nolan has fallen into, our own legendary trampoline jump scenes suddenly appear to us as Kubrickian, grounded cinema. At least Cüneyt Baba never tricked us with “I’m making art” packaging and strapped iron armor onto a Bronze Age man before putting him on a Viking ship.