Christopher Nolan urges Korean audiences to embrace adventure of ‘The Odyssey’ in theaters

Christopher Nolan said he hopes Korean audiences, even those unfamiliar with the story of Odysseus, will experience a sense of adventure and entertainment as they follow the Greek hero’s journey in his latest film, "The Odyssey."

What the director may not know, however, is that while the “Iliad” is not commonly taught in Korean schools the way it is in the United States, or in Europe, many Koreans are already well-acquainted with Greek mythology thanks to a hugely popular comic book series by Hong Eun-young that ran from 2000 to 2003.

Familiar story or not, Nolan’s adaptation has already sold out IMAX screenings ahead of its Wednesday release in Korea, with scalped tickets for large-format IMAX theaters — where the film can be seen in the format Nolan intended — appearing online. The film is the first feature to be shot entirely with IMAX film cameras.

The director, who has long been a vocal supporter of the theatrical movie experience, encouraged the move, while also thanking Korean fans for their support for his previous films, in his first visit to the country.

"It's a very, very unique combination — the kind of psychological insights, the point of view that you can't get from a novel, for example. You're seeing something that's very personal, very individual […] The camera is taking you, showing the precise things from a certain perspective, and you're sharing that with other people,"  Nolan said at a press conference in central Seoul on Monday.

"There really is nothing more special than the theatrical experience. Particularly for a story like ‘The Odyssey,' we're really trying to bring audiences on Odysseus’s journey. So they can feel like they are on the deck of the ship with him and that they're climbing mountains with him or going into the Cyclops cave with him."

When asked what message he wanted audiences to take from the three-hour movie — about Odysseus's yearslong travels to get to his home and family following his victory in the Trojan War — he asked that people simply "experience it for themselves."

Nolan made his first visit to Korea with Emma Thomas, his wife and longtime producer, and actors Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. Damon and Theron play Ithacan King Odysseus and sea goddess Calypso, respectively, in “The Odyssey," alongside Anne Hathaway as Odysseus's wife Penelope; Tom Holland as the couple's son Telemachus and Zendaya as the goddess of wisdom Athena, among others.

The director said he had wanted to visit Korea “for a long time” and had hoped to come earlier for the release of “Tenet” (2020), but was unable to because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He also said he had heard about the strong Korean response to “Interstellar” (2014), one of his most popular films in the country.

"It is a strange thing to have made a film and have people in another part of the world that you have never been to, and you don't have an idea or an impression of, because you haven't been there yourself. But to know that audiences there are responding to your film, that is very exciting," he said.

Thomas shared the sentiment.

"What I love about films in general is the fact that it unites people and I think there's something really wonderful that really kind of feeds my soul," she said.

"'The Odyssey' is very much a story about sort of human being, and the things that matter to us as human beings. That is something that is common to me as an English person as it is to an American.  It's common to people in Korea, in France, in India," she said.

Nolan and Thomas shared that they walked alongside Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs through downtown Seoul, and shopped at cosmetics chain Olive Young outside of their press tour, and indulged in a treat on the recommendation of their son's girlfriend, who is Korean American.

"I had the pleasure of trying the salt bread, which is extraordinary and absolutely wonderful," Nolan said.

Damon, who is visiting Korea for the first time in a decade, went viral on social media after attending a KBO game between the Kiwoom Heroes and SSG Landers at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Saturday, the same day he landed in the country.

Damon said he was invited by a friend who works as an agent for a Heroes player, and praised Korean baseball culture — marked by its team chants and coordinated fan sections — as a “completely different way to watch a baseball game” compared to MLB. Born and raised in Boston, Damon is a well-known Red Sox fan.

“I’ve always heard about baseball in Korea,” he said. “It was such a wonderful experience because the cheering sections for the two teams — that doesn’t happen in America. It was so exciting for us to see the energy that the fans brought and how involved and invested they were.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]