Greek cinemagoers have given their verdict on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, with most attendees interviewed in a new report enjoying what they saw.
READ MORE: ‘The Odyssey’ review: cinema may have peaked with Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster epic
The film is an adaptation of the epic poem by Greek writer Homer, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, a king making his way home to the island of Ithica following a brutal war. On his way home, he faces many obstacles including the mythical cyclops and meetings with gods. Greek politicians and media had been skeptical about the new take on the classic story, but The New York Times found a positive reception at an opening night screening in Athens.
Among the interviewees was 55-year-old Costas Anastassiadis, who enthused: “I was captivated. It took me back 45 years, when we were reading the story at school.” He also dismissed the criticism of the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen Of Troy by certain far right commentators, praising her performance but pointing out her brief screen time.
Audiences were also accepting of non-Greek actors in the film, with the newspaper pointing out that they had become accustomed to films such as Troy and 300 casting foreign actors as Greek heroes. 17-year-old Stylianos Koginis exclaimed “That’s what cinema should be,” adding: “The spirit of Odysseus was there.”
Not everyone was impressed, however, as 36-year-old Christina Georgiou called the film “Very Hollywood, with drawn-out battle scenes and over-the-top costumes. Basically, it glossed over the richness and turned an epic into a morality tale.” According to the report, Greek film critics have also been mixed about the blockbuster, arguing it added “postmodern sensibilities” to the classic themes.
Globally, the film has been met with almost-universal acclaim, achieving the biggest opening of the year for a live-action film and the highest Rotten Tomatoes scores of Nolan’s career, both from critics (94 per cent) and audiences (97 per cent).
Recently, the director said that the elements of horror used in The Odyssey has given him an appetite to make an all-out horror movie in the future. Elsewhere, Elon Musk, who has been critical of the diverse casting in the film, has said AI will create a “historically accurate” version of the story by the end of the year.
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