Christopher Nolan has shared something surprising about his new movie. He said Martin Scorsese‘s 1988 film ‘The Last Temptation of Christ‘ was a major influence on how he approached ‘The Odyssey‘.
In a recent interview, Nolan explained that both stories share something important. They both show legendary figures as vulnerable human beings.
Christopher Nolan Reveals Martin Scorsese’s Key Influence on ‘The Odyssey’
Before filming started, Nolan and his team watched several movies, but Scorsese’s version of Jesus stuck with them the most. That film shows Jesus dealing with fear and doubt, and it left a strong impression.
“We screened a few different films in preproduction, and that one in particular we got a print of,” Nolan told USA TODAY. “It’s a stunning movie and a shocking film. There were technical things that Scorsese was doing that were quite inspiring, but more than that, the figure of Jesus and what he does with him was very, very challenging to the audience. That was quite inspiring from the point of view of Odysseus: You want to be true to all the difficulties of the character, and that’s what ‘Temptation’ is.“
How Christopher Nolan Connects Jesus and Odysseus
For Nolan, the connection between Jesus and Odysseus comes down to their complexity. Scorsese’s movie showed Jesus as a man full of doubt, someone struggling with what he was meant to do. That version of the story caused a lot of controversy when it came out. But Nolan saw it as a guide for how to handle Odysseus, played by Matt Damon.
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Nolan does not want to show Odysseus as a perfect action hero. Instead, he wants to dig into the damage left by the Trojan War. He wants to show a leader who is worn down by ten years of fighting and ten more years of trying to get home. Nolan wants to explore “mixed motivations, the flaws of people, [and] that idea of where the best of intentions can go horribly wrong.”
This way of looking at the character fits with what scholars have talked about for a long time. They have often pointed out the similarities between Jesus and Odysseus, noting how both return home without being recognized and face mistreatment before people see who they really are. Nolan is taking that idea and putting it on screen.
Christopher Nolan’s Shift in Tone and Perspective
The influence of Scorsese also helped Nolan deal with the heavy feelings left over from making ‘Oppenheimer‘. After spending years thinking about nuclear war, which he calls “almost a horror film,” he wanted to move on. But the dark feelings did not go away.
“Coming out of ‘Oppenheimer,’ I had a funny combination of despair and optimism,” Nolan admitted. “It was a very disturbing subject to live with for a couple of years… I was quite glad to move out of that. But when you see ‘The Odyssey,’ you start to realize that I didn’t quite manage to escape it.“
That sense of dread found its way into the character of Odysseus. So Nolan’s version of ancient Greece is not just an adventure story. It is also about trauma and finding a way to keep going.
Nolan also took some technical ideas from Scorsese. In ‘The Last Temptation‘, the actors use their own natural accents, like Willem Dafoe’s American English and Harvey Keitel’s New York accent. Nolan did the same thing by letting his international cast speak in their own native accents.
Christopher Nolan’s Cinematic and Literary Approach to ‘The Odyssey’
While Scorsese’s film shaped the emotional side of the story, Nolan also looked to movies like ‘Jaws‘ and ‘Alien‘ for ideas on how to show the monsters. He also used the storytelling traditions of oral poetry to shape the movie’s structure. But it is The Last Temptation that Nolan credits with helping him understand the main character.
“Odysseus is a trickster; somebody who’s smart and wily,” Nolan has said. He compares the ancient king to a more cynical, weary kind of character rather than a typical hero. By looking at Odysseus through the same lens as a figure as important and examined as Christ, Nolan is making it clear that his Odyssey is not just about big moments. It is about what is going on inside the man.
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