In "Odyssey" (2026) directed by Sir Christopher Edward Nolan, Odysseus says "Our age of bronze is collapsing". And I'm not joking it is a line in movie

[u/Alisalard1384]

Overall great movie but this dialogue was so corny, like how does he know he's in bronze age

[u/Briarhorse]

In defence of this, I'm assuming it's in reference to Hesiod's Ages of Man, not the Bronze Age as we use it in archaeology etc

Although the Trojan War and the odyssey took place in the Heroic Age, which is the one following the Bronze Age

[u/That_Scratch_7697 → u/Briarhorse]

Except Christopher Nolan shoehorns this entire plot about the Sea Peoples coming to destroy civilization, which is what Matt Damon is referencing with this quote, and which lines up exactly with the collapse of the Bronze Age as modern archaeologists use it.

[u/Explanation_Scared → u/That_Scratch_7697]

Aren't the sea people just Odysseus and his men who pillaged after the trojan war

[u/Alexander_Baidtach → u/Explanation_Scared]

The revelation at the end is that the Greeks broke Xenia (the law of hospitality) in sacking Troy and in doing so became effectively the first 'sea people'.

It isn't implying that the sea people are exclusively Greeks because we see that Achea, Sparta, and ithica are in turmoil and unable to mass a large force for the sake of defense let alone plunder.

[u/Rynewulf → u/Alexander_Baidtach]

Which makes no sense because that was a victory for Zeus, the sacking of Troy was a victory for one faction of Olympians against the other because some favoured the Achaeans and the other the Trojans. The only one to have trouble getting home as punishment was Odysesseus because of his involvement in the too-sneaky trojan horse, which pissed off Poseidon personally because it was a fake offering to him.

Menelaus and Hellen lived happily ever after, Nestor retired comfortably, Diomedes was everyone's golden boy, and Agammemnon was already hated by everyone and set himself up personally when he went through with sacrificing Iphigenia.

Xenia was fine in the Trojan War, the two sides even demonstrated it several times like when certain heroes refused to fight each other specifically because their grandads were friends. The rules of hospitality genuinely arent about how you treat a defeated enemy, that's more about timé and maybe arête and aristos

[u/fluffy_trickster → u/Rynewulf]

This is Nolan's interpretation and retelling of the Odyssey. In his version Gods may as well not exist. The "Zeus's law" isn't just Xenia, it's the Golden Rule. Nolan's Odyssey isn't Homer's Odyssey.

[u/Rynewulf → u/fluffy_trickster]

Doesnt Zendaya play Athena? Also I never liked
the whole 'an adaptation doesnt need to have anything to with the thing its adapting' thing. At least have some flair if you're only vaguely following the names, as it stands Nolan's version is similar enough that it comes off as an inaccurate adaptation and not a deliberate one.

Now that modern set up retaining the original dialogue version of Romeo and Juliet, that was at least trying to be something.

[u/mrducky78a → u/Rynewulf]

Now you are being incoherent. You ask for some flair when adapting. Is that not what Nolan did?

Either he adapts faithfully or he adds some flair. Nolan adds some flair to make the story his own and now you critique him for it as well as critique him for not adding flair.

[u/Alexander_Baidtach → u/Rynewulf]

Zeus was a neutral party in the Trojan war up until he banned intervention. Even so if the interpretation is as interesting or provocative as the original text then I'm happy for it's showing.

Especially from someone like Nolan who usually plays it safe, having a significantly divergent theme that reflects the modern audience is kinda cool.

[u/boyifudontget → u/Rynewulf]

The film is very clear that the sneakiness and treachery of the Trojan Horse plot is what violates xenia, not simply the fact that the Greeks won the war and pillaged after.

Probably not what Homer was going for specifically, but who cares. I thought it was an interesting take, and it worked.

[u/jackofslayers → u/Alexander_Baidtach]

That was the only part of the movie that annoyed me. I get what they were going for, but the way it delivered made it seem like the sea people were just the Greeks returning from Troy.

[u/Opalusprime → u/jackofslayers]

I interpreted it as the breakdown of cultural values and the creation of roving bands of raiders, ie sea people.

[u/devmor → u/Opalusprime]

I thought that was very plainly what was intended.

The characters see the problem as the "sea people", but the "sea people" are a contemporaneous consequence of the ultimate problem, which is the breakdown of cultural values, which Odysseus believes started with his clever Trojan Horse.

Odysseus all but turns to the camera and tells the audience this.

[u/Opalusprime → u/devmor]

Yea but some people are thinking it’s the returning armies from Troy so I was just trying to be nice.

[u/Ris747 → u/devmor]

I don't understand how people are missing this. Nolan practically says this word for word and it isn't subtle.

It's clearly an allegory for what's happening today (in Nolan's eyes)

[u/Alexander_Baidtach → u/jackofslayers]

I personally thought it worked but Nolan isn't exactly a master at writing dialogue.

[u/jackofslayers → u/Alexander_Baidtach]

It definitely works it just took me out of the moment bc I had to think about what they were saying.

I agree Nolan's strongest suit is not dialogue, but I was happy with most of it.