With the domestic release of the film 'The Odyssey' and director Christopher Nolan's first visit to South Korea, the original epic poem by Homer, 'The Odyssey,' is once again receiving passionate attention from readers.

In the publishing industry, various forms of 'The Odyssey'-related books are being continuously published, including original translation editions, children's educational books, graphic novels, and commentaries. According to Kyobo Book Centre, 13 new titles have flooded the market since last month, and sales of books with 'The Odyssey' in the title surged by 595.5% in July compared to the same period last year. Some libraries are even experiencing a rush of loan reservations.

The Two Pillars of Western Civilization: The Bible and 'The Odyssey'

The reason 'The Odyssey' continues to be read to this day is not simply because of the film's release. This work is a classic that forms the foundation of Western literature, art, and philosophy, and it is the first work to complete the universal human narrative of 'returning home.' If the Bible is one axis of Western civilization and intellectual history, then 'The Odyssey' is regarded as the other pillar of Western literary and art history.

To properly understand this epic, it is necessary to examine it alongside its companion piece, 'The Iliad.' Both works are attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer and are set against the backdrop of the Trojan War. While 'The Iliad' sings of war, heroic honor, and rage, 'The Odyssey' depicts the journey of Odysseus, who survived the war, as he returns to his homeland of Ithaca. Rather than the victory of war, the central themes are the subsequent life, homecoming, family, and human restoration.

Odysseus is different from a typical hero. He is not a figure with overwhelming strength like Achilles, but rather a strategist who devised the Trojan Horse scheme and a being who survives crises with wit and patience. Therefore, 'The Odyssey' is read as a work that emphasizes wisdom over strength and survival over conquest. In later modern literature, such as James Joyce's 'Ulysses,' Odysseus has been repeatedly borrowed as the archetype of the 'wandering human.'

Director Nolan's 'The Odyssey': A Narrative of Wounds and Atonement

Based on Homer's 'The Odyssey,' the film 'The Odyssey' depicts the ten years of adventures Odysseus undertakes to return home after the Trojan War. Odysseus is the figure who devised the Trojan Horse, leading the Greek allied forces to victory.

In this work, director Nolan does not portray Odysseus (Matt Damon) merely as a hero, but focuses on his human side, tormented by despair and guilt after the war. This is similar to the agony the protagonist feels after developing the atomic bomb in Nolan's previous work, 'Oppenheimer.' The film conveys the wounds left by war and a message of 'atonement.'

Director Nolan is known for his directing style of twisting and varying time structures. In films such as 'Memento,' 'Tenet,' 'Inception,' 'Interstellar,' and 'Dunkirk,' he has freely manipulated the flow of time. 'The Odyssey' also unfolds its story through an intersection of past and present. However, the complexity of the time structure is lower compared to his previous works, allowing audiences who usually find Nolan's films difficult to approach them with relative ease.

First Entire Film Shot in 70mm IMAX... Viewing Enthusiasm

Another feature of this film is that it is the first work to be entirely shot on 70mm IMAX film. Nolan has actively utilized IMAX film in all his feature films since 'The Dark Knight,' but this time he completed the entire film in the IMAX format. Footage shot with an IMAX camera is taller from top to bottom than that of standard cameras, maximizing immersion.

However, there are only 41 70mm IMAX dedicated theaters worldwide, with none in South Korea. Because of this, some audiences have chosen to travel overseas to watch it, and even scalper tickets have appeared for the CGV Yongsan IMAX theater ('Yongmaek').

Key Characters and Beginner's Guide

There are also characters that help in understanding the film. Odysseus's son, Telemachus, is the protagonist of a coming-of-age story who sets out to find his father, and his wife, Penelope, is a wise figure who waited for her husband for 20 years, deceiving her suitors by weaving a shroud during the day and unraveling it at night. Various gods, monsters, and heroes also appear, including the Sirens, Calypso, Circe, the Cyclops, Poseidon, and Athena. These figures have been repeatedly used as archetypes in Western culture and art.

For readers encountering 'The Odyssey' for the first time, grasping the main outline through an introductory book is also a good approach. Guides that easily explain key scenes and character relationships are available, and for those who wish to read the original text in depth, recently published related commentaries and Gang Dae-jin's guidebook can serve as excellent companions.

Director Nolan's First Visit to Korea... Emma Thomas's Olive Young Anecdote

Meanwhile, with the release of 'The Odyssey,' director Christopher Nolan visited South Korea for the first time. He visited Korea on the 1st of this month along with producer and wife Emma Thomas, and lead actors Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. At a press conference held at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Nolan emphasized the value of experiencing the film together with the audience in a theater, revealing his intention to 'invite the audience to Odysseus's journey.' Emma Thomas also drew attention by sharing, 'My son's girlfriend is Korean-American, so we went shopping at Olive Young.'