The Odysseey (Christopher Nolan, 2026)

 A more than 2,500-year-old epic in Ancient Greek and a film shot entirely on IMAX. Can that work together? It works remarkably well. I have to say that I watched the standard version, so my impression might have been different if I had seen it the way Nolan intended. I found the lighting problematic at times, as well as the sound mix.

First, the narrative structure. Nolan reminds us that the Odyssey was meant to be recited. The film starts with a bard introducing the hero Odysseus, but this version is interrupted almost immediately, giving us a hint that we might be seeing a different kind of hero. Let's see.

The Trojan War ended ten years ago. Most of the warriors have returned; only Odysseus and his men are still missing. As in the epic, his son Telemachus sets out to seek news of his father at the court of Menelaus. Menelaus' wife Helen was the reason the war started in the first place. Telemachus is also fleeing from a plot to murder him. Meanwhile, at Odysseus' court, a group of suitors is trying to persuade his wife Penelope to remarry—and her son, as the rightful heir, would only stand in their way.

So there is no news about Odysseus—not even for us—until he is eventually introduced. This also happens only after some time in the epic. Odysseus has washed up on the island of Calypso, where he spends seven of the ten years covered by the Odyssey. What happened before is told through flashbacks. Two different characters recount the earlier events, and while the result is occasionally a little clumsy, it works well overall.

Some of the creative decisions were heavily debated after the trailer was released. Some self-important people criticised the fact that Helen is dark-skinned. They argued about the shape of the ships, the American accents of the characters, and the absence of Greek actors. Guys, this is a myth. What would we gain if the film were spoken in Homeric Greek? Exactly—nothing. Demanding historical accuracy from a myth misses the point. Besides, dark-skinned Helen has barely two minutes of screen time. If that's a deal-breaker, this probably isn't the film for you..

And by the way: in Nolan's version, the gods interfere—or maybe they don't. Nolan leaves it deliberately ambiguous whether the gods truly intervene or whether Athena is simply a projection of Odysseus' traumatised mind. This Odysseus is not a conventional hero, but a man who questions his own responsibility. Yes, he is the cunning trickster, but he also realises that the Trojan Horse undermined the moral foundations of their civilisation. The Greeks won by betraying their own values. He feels responsible for those who were left behind, the forgotten casualties of the war. And he hopes that culture may yet experience a new dawn. 

An Odyssey for our time.

Rapportpigen (1974, Knud Leif Thomsen)

 In Denmark all Danish productions are called "pearls", so today I watches a "pearl from the Danish film trasure". Let's have a look what ia considered pearl level in Denmark.

Vivi is a factory girl. Her boyfriend lives off her and else he is most of the day in bed. It seems that he is ploughing through classical poems that could become texts for a song. Vivi's salary is not enough to feed his need for steaks. In short, there is a need for money. So he persuades her to pose for a sex magazine. Those were the "liberated 70s". She asks, however, if people are talking too much about sex - probably this is meant as a touch of reflection. 

A stalker spots Vivi as she tries to get away, the stalker just in time manages to jump on the bus. Interesting to see that then you were allowed to smoke on a bus. Interesting as well that the stalker openly reads his sex magazine. Those were the times.

On the bus is the man hater Harriet, a woman in her 40s.  Before  we know it Vivi is in Harriet's house. Harriet intends to bring the war of the sexes to a new level. And indeed also the script reaches new levels of stupidity when Harriet tries to seduce the stalker. 

This film doesn't know what it wants to be. A comedy without jokes? A thriller without suspense? A sex film without sex? Or just a reflection on stupidity in society.

IMDb attributes 118' to this junk. Thankfuly my vefsion has 40 minutes less.

Never to be seen again.

2/10

 

Hata Göteborg (2007, Robert Lillhonga)

 Streaming services are in eed of good films. They need to dig up films for our viewing pleasure. Most often these films managed to be under the radar when they were around. It is unlikedly that we will meet underrated masterpieces, but some might get a second chance. 

Hata Göteborg is about hooliganism. I have the idea that it is supposed to be a drama, but to me it is surprizinglu unengagimg. There are various scenes of beating ups, binge drinking and foul talking. At the end one of the gang might quit violence.

Disappointing.

(6/10)

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023, Hettie Macdonald)

The biggest surprise of today is that my miserable blog is still around. I have been kicked out from sites,because I didn't login often enough, but this miserable orphaned blog of mine is still around. I think, I should care of it a little more. I realize that it is mostly read by search bots. At least it can be there  for me to remember what  have seen.

So today it was a British film. Before i was undecided whether to call something a movie or a film. Now I know the difference and will stick to the notion film. A film from the UK thus with an old-fashioned appeal, a message so clear that you can cut it out with a butcher's knife and no surprises on the way. Obviously a film that should suit my biology.

One morning Harold gets a letter. Queenie informs him that she has cancer and is going to die.Queenie used to be a colleague when Harold was working at the brewery. Harold want to tell her a letter, telling her that he is sorry, but then a talk with a girl at the garage makes him realize that he should do something more. He gets the idea that he should walk to her and that then she will live.  

At this point we know that there must be some unfinished business. On his trip Harold has many occasions to reflect about his unfinished business. He had a son with serious issues. Harold couldn't get through to David and finally he killed himself. His wife, yes, Harold is married to Maureen couldn't cope and that was basically the end of their marriage.

6/10

Špína ([Filth], 2017, Teresa Nvotová)

 Teresa Nvotová made several documentaries before she presented her first feature Filth. Her take of the drama unfolding in less than 90 minutes is also observing, without judging and empathy. The characters reveal themselves.

The film starts with a electroshock therapy. The next 50 minutes or so tell us, how 17-year-old Lena got there. At the beginning of the flash back Lena is an ordinary girl. Once in a while she skips classes and talks with her Róza about sex and how it feels to have an erected sticky penis in hand. They adore their math teacher Robo. Robo also looks after Lena's physically challenged brother and gives Lena extra lessons in her home. Things go wrong from here, when Robo gets physical and rapes Lena. He leaves her with the trauma. Next she is trying to commit suicide and then we meet her in a psychiatric ward. Things run fast, as Nvotová at this point is not very much interested in Lena's development. Most of the film deals with the scandalously bad state of the health system in  Slovakia. 

The psychiatric hospital is close to criminal neglect,the doctor in charge seems worse than nurse Ratched. What they therapy makes things worse. Lena's co-patient Iva was raped by her father, but the doctor doubts her story. Iva and Lena joke about different ways to commit suicide. When the doctor finally releases Iva, it is no longer a joke. She takes her life. 

Although Lena's mother has doubts, she believes the doctor that am electric shock would benefit Lena. We finally concentrate on Lena's story. Her mother insists that she is discharged. She returns back to some kind of normality. Scumbag Robo is forced to confess his crime, but will he have to pay for it. At the end Lena rejects a  boy, but we don't know if she does so because she now is an independent woman or because the scars on her soul prevent her from the commitments of a relationship.

Filth doesn't really know what it wants. The life in the psychiatric hospital are told in some detail. Nvotová uses real in-mates from psychiatric hospitals who play versions of themselves and real actors. Those scenes are directed very skillfully. The story of Lena is told in a rather sloppy way, more like "Last Time on Filthy" than showing the development, the inner conflicts and the final resolution. Now it is more like a two in one film.

6/10