I have virtually zero knowledge of The Odyssey as a Greek mythology, save for a few recognisable names like the Helen of Troy, the Trojan War etc. I do want to enjoy the movie to its fullest, and if learning about the plot material is essential to it, then so be it. Is there a good resource giving a summarized version of the plot enough to understand the film? If so, I would really appreciate it if you shared it here.

  • Grail@multiverse.soulism.netEnglish
    14·
    3 days ago

    Alright, here’s the backstory:

    Eris, the goddess of being a bit of a dick, didn’t get invited to a wedding because she’s a dick. But she came anyway, and brought an apple that said “for the prettiest goddess”. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite happened to be at the wedding, and they had a bit of an argument over who was the prettiest. Eventually, they decided to go ask Paris, the king of Troy.

    All three of the goddeses decided to bribe Paris. Hera was like “I’m queen of the gods and I can make you king of Asia.” Athena was like “I’m the goddess of strategy and I can make you the best general who ever lived.” And Aphrodite was like “Fuck those old hags, I can hook you up with the hottest babe in the world.” Paris chose to be a horndog and said Aphrodite was the prettiest. So Aphrodite yoinked Helen from her loving husband and told her to bang Paris.

    Helen’s husband, Menelaus, was unhappy with this. Fortunately for him, he’d just got done founding ancient Greek NATO, and he called in all his favours. So every hero and warrior in all of Greece sailed off to Troy to get Helen back. Unfortunately for Menelaus, the Trojans had massive walls. So everyone spent a while killing each other pointlessly while the gods took sides and got involved in more petty drama.

    Eventually Achilles goes on a gay rampage and dies, and Odysseus builds a giant wooden horse. Odysseus sneaks his best troops into Troy and they sack the place and steal all their money. And everyone thought it was awesome and high fived and chest bumped.

    So then all the Greeks, including Odysseus, get back into their ships full of treasure and decide to go home. And unfortunately for Odysseus, Poseidon fucking hates him for no reason. Which is a rough position to be in during a sea voyage!

    • Grail@multiverse.soulism.netEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      One more thing you should know, OP: Odysseus is an antihero.

      All the best heroes in ancient Greece are a strong guy who’s good with a sword, and has more than two brain cells. Odysseus is strong by normal people standards, but he’s not the incredible Hulk. He’s the smart one. He’s the Iron Man of the Greeks.

      Odysseus’ favourite weapon is the bow, because he prefers to fight from a distance to keep himself safe. He’s a liar and a cheat who uses trickery to deal with bad guys. In traditional Greek culture, all of this makes him a coward and calls his worthiness to be a hero into question.

      And yet, Odysseus is the guy who actually won the Trojan War for the Greeks. He accomplished way more than Achilles, the homoerotic, throbbingly erect pillar of traditional Greek masculinity.

      This tension is super important during scenes like the one where he tells Polythremus his name is Nobody. That one’s in the Odyssey and it’s awesome. Odysseus is the bad boy. The Greeks had a harder time rooting for him, because he uses his brains more often than his muscles.

  • flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz
    16·
    4 days ago

    I think it might be fun if you do it the other way around. See the film first.

    Then get ahold of Iliad and Odyssey and read them, trying to match stuff from the movie to the original

  • HenriVolney@sh.itjust.works
    111·
    4 days ago

    I’ve read the Odyssey cover to cover several times. Best thing you can do is learning as little as possible before seeing this movie.

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
    6·
    3 days ago

    save for a few recognisable names like the Helen of Troy, the Trojan War etc.

    You’re in luck, it all takes place after that. Like immediately, Odysseus is coming (odysseying) back from Troy.

    It’s so episodic they can’t possibly fuck up the exposition. Just general stuff about how the Greeks lived, what each of the gods did and what a nymph is would help, although who knows how much of that Hollywood has “adapted”, as well.

  • Agent641@lemmy.world
    8·
    3 days ago

    It all starts with this character named Abe. He is a janitor at a place called Rupture farms. He is a member of species called Mudoken, which are enslaved by another species called Glukkons, to work in their food factories. Abe’s actually pretty happy with his job, until he learns that due to declining harvest of wild Scrabs and Paramites, the Glukkons plan to start eating Mudokens.

    • flandish@lemmy.world
      1·
      3 days ago

      i thought it was about Willie, dying in a fire because his employer was too cheap to recharge the fire extinguishers. So after death he haunts the dreams of various children until he’s taken out by a baby.

  • Fizz@lemmy.nz
    11·
    4 days ago

    Some vague knowledge of the gods like Poseidon. The movie is an easy watch even for someone who doesnt know anything.

  • Crozekiel@lemmy.zipEnglish
    4·
    3 days ago

    Well first off, it’s a completely different Homer… Nothing, and I can’t stress this enough, nothing to do with The Simpsons AT ALL…

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
      2·
      3 days ago

      If you have the opposite situation to OP, and you’ve read the book papyrus, what do you need to know about Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey?

      • bigbangdangler@reddthat.com
        6·
        3 days ago

        Some parts and characters are just left out, presumably for length or editing.

        Calypso’s arc doesn’t fully match the original, and it is combined with some other bits.

        And (not a spoiler, but I’ll be a bit vague): Odysseus’ internal turmoil as presented in the film isn’t really in the original. That said, I felt like it gave more depth to the character, in a way that the original simply wasn’t intended to do.

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
          1·
          3 days ago

          Some parts and characters are just left out, presumably for length or editing.

          Hmm yeah that’s not surprising, a whole lot of stuff happens in there. And in the age of streaming, why not make it a limited series?

          I guess movies just have a certain prestige. And you can actually drag people to an IMAX theater, if it’s watchable in one shot, although even there you could break it into a trilogy, or something.

          • bigbangdangler@reddthat.com
            2·
            3 days ago

            I definitely appreciated that it was a movie versus a streaming series, or even a movie series. For all that was left out, what remains is very cohesive, engaging, and entertaining.

            This director is also really second-to-none in IMAX, and it absolutely shows on screen.

      • HobbitFoot English
        4·
        3 days ago

        A story’s retelling is as much about the time it is told as it is the original telling.

        Nolan is saying a lot about the USA in this story.

  • quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    5·
    4 days ago

    I haven’t watched it but I’d say to try what was my approach with The Lord of the Rings. Watch the movie. If you liked it or if you felt the need to know more about the story, read the books and every other related thing. Then watch the movie again.

    You have only one chance of watching the movie without previous knowledge.