We watched the very "Odyssey" — how the most controversial film of the year turned out

If you want to see "The Odyssey" as its creators intended, you won't be able to do so in Minsk (or even in neighboring capitals). "The Odyssey" is the first film in the world shot on a 70-millimeter IMAX film camera, and only 41 cinemas worldwide can show it as director Christopher Nolan intended. To see the film in that format, some fans crossed the ocean.

Matt Damon was cast as Odysseus. In this role as the king of Ithaca, Damon returned to his traditional archetype of a character searching for a way home: recall his earlier roles in "Saving Private Ryan," where Damon is rescued from behind enemy lines in World War II, or in "The Martian," when his character was "forgotten" on Mars.

The Trojan War is over, and Odysseus-Damon embarks on a years-long journey home, where his wife Penelope and son Telemachus await him. He will complete his journey 20 years after he went to war, arriving home as a not-so-young man.

It's no surprise to see 55-year-old Damon in such a role, yet many online were indignant – claiming Odysseus should be younger. Nevertheless, Damon fits Odysseus both in age and, more importantly, in life experience. His task is to play a man broken by life, who has lost his army, kingdom, and family, and this is not a role for youngsters.

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Almost the most popular myth about Nolan's "Odyssey" is the story that Elliot Page was allegedly cast as Achilles, Odysseus's companion. Page is a trans man who began his film career as Ellen Page, with blockbusters like "X-Men." Page's last roles in a female persona were in the late 2010s, after which the actor had a career break.

Haters compared the short and delicate Page to the muscular Brad Pitt – the sex symbol of the 2000s who played Achilles in the 2004 film "Troy."

But Page did not play Achilles. He was given the small role of Sinon, a humble and honest warrior who persuades the Trojans to bring the Trojan horse into the city, and Page's gender history in no way hindered him in that role.

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The fact that Page was given the role of Sinon is a Trojan trick that Nolan played on the haters who believed the rumors about Page as Achilles. No less fuss was made about the story of Kenyan Lupita Nyong'o. Nolan entrusted her with the role of Helen of Troy, and when this became known, comparisons to the film "Troy" again crept in. There, Helen is played by German Diane Kruger – a fair-skinned blonde who is easier to imagine in a Scandinavian or Eastern European film than in the role of a southern beauty.

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A Kenyan in the role of a Greek queen certainly looks exotic – if you don't consider that it's a myth. It's equally strange to see countless Americans and Britons among the main characters, and not a single Greek.

Penelope, Odysseus's wife, is played by Anne Hathaway; her son Telemachus by zoomer idol Tom Holland. The age difference between the actors is only 13 years, but, oddly enough, this is quite an accurate detail: in ancient Greece, girls married and gave birth for the first time precisely when they were 13-15 years old.

Holland's girlfriend, young star Zendaya, will also appear in "The Odyssey." She has the role of the goddess Athena, a much more complex character than it seems at first glance.

Another complex character is Antinous, the most brazen of the suitors who seek Penelope's hand in her lawful husband's absence. That role was given to Robert Pattinson. For the Briton, who has long shed the image of the handsome vampire from "Twilight," an excellent performance in "The Odyssey" is the culmination of perhaps the best years of his career: in the past year alone, Pattinson has starred in major projects like "Die, My Love" with Jennifer Lawrence and "This is Drama!" with Zendaya.

Nolan has already received a lot of criticism for the absence of Greeks in the cast – implying he disrespects Greek culture. And at the same time, he disrespects historical realities, understanding too freely what ancient Greek costumes might have been like: for example, King Agamemnon's helmet went viral due to its resemblance to Batman's costumes.

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But you know what? Specifically for this film, all those details are absolutely unimportant. It wouldn't even be surprising if Nolan's Greeks wore jeans and sneakers, because this story is not at all about historical reconstruction, and such things little interest Nolan as a director.

Much more important to him is to tell "The Odyssey" as a story that repeats thousands of years after Homer. It is a story about war and temptations that strip people of their humanity, about conscience and deceit, about loyalty and shame, which makes it terrifying to look into beloved eyes, and about pain that is easier to forget than to accept.

Those who call "The Odyssey" a kind of prequel to another Nolan masterpiece, "Oppenheimer," are also right. If "Oppenheimer" tells how war can destroy the world, then "The Odyssey" is an opportunity to look back to where humanity was only learning violence and war. And to see how even then, civilization planted a ticking time bomb beneath itself.

Western critics are thrilled with the film. The New York Times is already calling "The Odyssey" "a classic in every sense," and The Washington Post responds to the film's haters that this is an extraordinary version of "The Odyssey," made for our times.

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The Observer notes the film's duality and that it's not just a story from ancient Greece:

“It's an epic, mythical spectacle, made with respect for the ancient Greek original, with its monsters and magic. But it also addresses more current themes of exile, military trauma, and survivor's guilt.

In a sense, this film is a Trojan horse. It's an extravagant, beautiful adventure through which we are told how to behave with strangers, about the heavy weight of legacy, and that it's impossible to return from war the same person you went into it.”

Rolling Stone predicts that "The Odyssey" will leave audiences spellbound, and Esquire writes that Nolan's masterpiece might even change your life. Nolan's film, it seems, is the main film of the year.

You will likely be able to see it in Belarus starting July 25.

Nolan's "Odyssey" will reveal itself to those who can see content beyond form, who can see the universal despite differences in time, nations, and races. But there's no need to fear complex meanings and the film's almost 3-hour length – judging by ratings, "The Odyssey" easily captivates cinephiles. On the major site Rotten Tomatoes, the project currently has a 97% audience rating; on IMDb – 8.4 out of 10 points.

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