Why filming The Odyssey was a “nightmare” according to Christopher Nolan

Four months at sea, eight countries, IMAX cameras hoisted to the top of cliffs and very real storms… In Première, the filmmaker tells the extraordinary behind-the-scenes story of his Odyssey.

We had to go there. Embark on the Mediterranean. Explore the Greek and Sicilian islands. Experiencing a journey, like Ulysses deep down…

To adapt The Odyssey of Homer, Christopher Nolan especially did not want a studio-made epic. In issue 575 of Firstcurrently on newsstands, the director says he tried to make the viewer physically feel the ordeals Ulysses went through:

“This is what modern cinema can bring to a myth like that of Ulysses: transform this story into a physical and sensory experience. That’s why we shot everything in IMAX, and why I want us to see The Odyssey on the biggest screen, with the best possible sound: so that the public can believe in these mythical events and take the journey with Ulysses as if they were there! We have even developed lenses to get as close as possible into the eyes of actors; a close-up here becomes as ‘epic’ as any landscape.”

But it was above all the filming itself that pushed the entire team to their limits. After DunkirkChristopher Nolan thought he was done with shooting on the open sea. But he had to dive back in…

“We actually filmed on an entirely wooden boat, built using ancient methods. And yet, believe me, after DunkirkI didn’t really want to go back on a boat. We were outside, in complicated weather, we were riding the sea, we were really hitting the waves. Hoyte (van Hoytema) was filming with a shoulder-mounted camera, strapped to the boat. Someone was holding him while he grabbed his plans. Everyone was experiencing the scene, in real conditions…“

In total, filming took place in eight countries, with four months spent at sea, on locations that the director claims have never been filmed before. A total immersion which has a financial… and physical cost:

“Honestly ? It’s been a nightmare…in the worst and best sense of the word. The sea, above all: we spent four months on the waves. It was terrifying, wonderful, horrible… It could change from one hour to the next. But we wanted to make people feel the harshness of these journeys: this leap into the unknown, this dive into a world that has not yet been mapped. And when we embrace the physicality of reality to this extent, something happens. The world resists you and that feeds the story. And no platform will be able to reproduce this.”

Actor Matt Damon had already spoken about the extreme conditions of filming on a Sicilian island. Nolan confirms that some days were expedition-related:

“Every morning, we had to climb up to the set, hoisting the IMAX camera to the top. It’s a machine that weighs crazy! We were on top of the mountains, in the caves, under the blazing sun one day, in the pouring rain the next day, in the wind. It was difficult, but it was intentional: that’s the very nature of this story. We couldn’t cheat. To tell the story of this trip, you had to experience it a little.”

Upon arrival, the director recognizes that the entire team came out of this adventure tested:

“On this film, we clearly pushed the limits of physical endurance, both the crew and the actors. Everyone was exhausted at the end… but that’s probably the price of a trip like this.“

The Odyssey is currently in theaters.