Christopher Nolan assumes that his Greek heroes speak… in English!

Faced with the controversies that accompanied the release of The Odyssey, the British director defends several of his creative choices.

Did Ulysses speak English?

The question will perhaps amuse some spectators of The Odyssey in a few days… If there was indeed a King of Ithaca in antiquity, he spoke Mycenaean Greek. And Homer wrote his work in Homeric Greek. So, obviously, there’s nothing British about it. And yet, Christopher Nolan’s heroes express themselves… in contemporary English, with, for many, an American accent. A choice which has sparked numerous criticisms on social networks, particularly since the release of the trailers.

But a choice assumed and defended by the filmmaker. Questioned by the Los Angeles Timeshe explains that the goal was not to faithfully reproduce Homer’s language, but to reach today’s audiences:

“I wanted a language that had an emotional impact, not an intellectual one. JI may have been naive, it may come back to me, but I wanted a story anchored in reality. For me, it was obvious.”

Christopher Nolan also defends his impressive, very Hollywood – and not at all Mediterranean – cast, notably composed of Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o and Jon Bernthal.

“They are mythological figures, iconic characters. I wanted to bring together the best actors possible. The fact that their faces are familiar also helps contemporary audiences enter into this story..”

This isn’t the only controversy the film has faced. Some Internet users also criticized the film’s armor, deemed too close to that of Batman. Here again, Nolan refutes these accusations:

“There are Mycenaean daggers made of blackened bronze. The theory is that they already mastered this technique back then. With Agamemnon, our costume designer Ellen Mirojnick wanted to show her superior rank through exceptionally precious materials.“

Finally, the director thus justifies the presence of rapper Travis Scott in the role of a bard:

“I chose it because I wanted to remind people that this story has been passed down for centuries in the form of oral poetry. And, in a way, it echoes rap.”

So many artistic decisions fully assumed by Christopher Nolan, who prefers to favor emotional impact over strict historical reconstruction.

The Odyssey will be released on July 15 in France in cinemas.