Inner Life, Talks and Thoughts
Homer's Odyssey, Nolan's telling. Crucial losses in the movie version of nostos, homecoming
The Odyssey movie is brilliant. The combination of spectacle and seriousness that characterises Christopher Nolan’s film-making makes this one a must-see. I can wholeheartedly recommend it. However, this telling is Nolan's telling. The opening title reads: “A time of apparent magic”, which is a clear signal. Throughout a psychological option is offered for the presence of gods, sorcery and monsters and, quite explicitly, a moral imperative provides coherence to the meandering story. There are also, inevitably, elements from Homer’s original that are absent in the cinema epic and that gives me an entrée. I discussion the significance of love, which matters because it is such a key part of the question of how, like them, we humans might live close to the gods. I think about the significance of the blinding of Polyphemus, which is a dark awakening: human craftiness need no longer be tied to spiritual craft. I recall the striking appearance of the Cave of the Nymphs on Ithaca, and the Neoplatonic understanding of its significance. And then there’s the violence, which so much exceeds a moral response, as if hospitality, politeness and decency were enough. Christianity has a different response, and the brilliance of Homer’s tale is implicit in that emergence. For more on A Secret History of Christianity - https://www.markvernon.com/books/a-secret-history-of-christianity
