Lookaftering #10
Cerulean blue, The Odyssey, fancy cinemas, and little zines
Dear readers,
I went with a lovely friend to see The Odyssey yesterday morning! A Saturday 11:30am movie date probably wouldn’t have been my choice a few years ago, but now, with a little person’s schedule (and my husband’s as primary weekend parent) to consider, it worked out beautifully.
Growing up in Sussex, my grandmother once took me to a tiny independent cinema in a former Victorian lecture hall to see March of the Penguins, but this was not the norm. Usually going to see a film meant a half-hour drive to an industrial complex and a run-down chain cinema.
But we are spoiled in many ways here in Copenhagen, and that includes movie-going options. This is the third time I’ve been to Reservoir in as many years and man, it’s fun. I’m sure places like this exist in other cities and towns, but to me it feels undeniably luxurious. The seats:
Nestled into your squishy armchair with the soft glow of a personal little lamp, you can order what feels like ludicrously fancy food for the cinema. I had a pink yuzu kombucha plus nachos (including homemade tortilla chips) and cheesecake with fresh berries for dessert. This is absolutely not a regular thing for me. It felt exceptionally decadent. I couldn’t see any of the food because the film was dark. And it was a really lovely few hours. (Quite a few hours).
A few stray thoughts, as discussed with my friend as we walked off our feast in the local J.C. Jacobsens park, where Oppenheimer, Einstein, Niels Bohr and other luminaries used to wander and discuss things much more important than the latest Christopher Nolan movie:
I find it fascinating how others imagine things. Nolan has brought The Odyssey to life in a way that’s so different to how I imagine it. I’d love to see how other directors would visualise it. (Especially women.) I personally would’ve loved more light and beauty and ethereal godliness, but that’s fine. I can imagine it.
I don’t think it needs to be compared too closely to Homer’s epic. Now, I am not a classicist. I don’t really know what I’m talking about. But I read Robert Fagles’ translation of The Odyssey in my first university literature module, “Beginnings,” and more recently enjoyed Emily Wilson’s popular translation. I liked both. And I enjoyed this film! It feels like an Odyssey for our time, and an Odyssey created by Christopher Nolan.
I liked this Guardian piece by Charlotte Higgins (“Christopher Nolan has made an Odyssey for our times – by sacrificing the delicious darkness of Homer’s epic”). The darkness and the lightness have been dulled. But honestly, I’m okay with some of the horrid stuff being made more palatable for movie audiences.
I also just like enjoying things which humans have made.