#15 Momentous Movie Review: The Odyssey Part 2
Checkout a movie review of The Odyssey through the lens of Momentous Leadership
Steve Steele
8/10/20267 min read
"You're a man who needs to control his fate. But you cannot control this. You must give yourself to the storm, give yourself to Poseidon. And take your punishment. Give up the fight, give up control and live. It is a leap of faith you haven't yet made, Odysseus."
-Calypso
Welcome to Part 2 of my Momentous Movie Review of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. If you enjoyed last week, you read about some momentous quotes in the first half (realistically two-thirds) of the movie. Many of those were major trials Odysseus faced as he attempted his journey back to Ithaca from the Battle of Troy. This week covers the last section of the movie where our leader Odysseus faces an impossible decision and his own reckoning. Again, remember there are spoilers ahead. I hope you enjoy the read of my take on these movie quotes!
No direct quote here, but the scene where Odysseus manipulates the ship to the tight path where he knew he would sacrifice six men to save the rest. His 2nd in command, Eurylochus, is upset with him for knowing what would happen and not telling them.
I can't quite remember or find a direct quote from this, but in the lens of leadership, one of the hardest and loneliest feelings is having information that is confidential and being unable to share pieces with your team. ESPECIALLY when you know it really matters to them and maybe even pertains to them. As they were preparing to leave Circe's house, she shared with him that in the path forward his only options were to attempt to navigate a whirlpool that would ultimately lead to the death of everyone on his ship, or to go through a narrow channel that would cost six of his men to cross. She told him these were his two choices and left him with the brutal burden of holding that information alone as the ship steered down that channel.
After the six men are taken by the monster of the channel, Eurylochus again loses his temper towards Odysseus, furious that he would withhold that information from the crew and ensuring that Odysseus knows that he alone is to blame for the loss of those men. It was a moment when he made the tough decision, bared the blame, took the heat, but also saved some of his men to live another day. This is in many cases the hardest part of leadership. In some situations, there is nothing lonelier than a leader with information only they can bear. The information can be a burden that breaks the back of many, but in the face of this pressure and anxiety, you are required to hold strong and make the hard decision anyway. This scene gives a great realization to all people whether in a leadership or follower position, that while we may not like a decision of a leader, or that they withheld information from the group, the burden of that position is often far heavier than any emotion that can arise after the fact. Everyday leaders across the world are asked to make impossible decisions based on serving the best interests of those they lead. Many times those decision come with the fact that those they lead will hate or ridicule them for making the decision. Just as Odysseus was, be courageous and make the hard decision anyway!
"You're a man who needs to control his fate. But you cannot control this. You must give yourself to the storm, give yourself to Poseidon. And take your punishment. Give up the fight, give up control and live. It is a leap of faith you haven't yet made, Odysseus." - Calypso
His crew is all dead, he has been semi-held hostage on Ogygia by Calypso (also semi-willingly but lotus flower aided) and now remembers everything and wants to go home. In his struggle to know how to get home, Calypso reveals what he needs to do with the line above. At this point, with everything lost, he is simply trying to find his own way home and become himself again. How many times as a leader do we struggle to maintain control? Especially as one who was at the peak of leadership in his victory in Troy and then slowly losing his entire crew and himself in the process.
There are many times as a leader we become control freaks and fight any threat to that control every step of the way. How many times do we "let go and let God?" That was the quote that came to mind as I watched the scene where Odysseus lays on a rickety raft and floats out to open ocean, willingly accepting his fate and taking that leap of faith that he will find his way home. Only when he truly lets go and accepts his punishment that Calypso warned was coming, did he finally make it back to the shores of Ithaca. In the same way, only when we surrender to God and release control, as hard as that can be, can we truly fulfill his plans for our own lives to become who he needs us to be.
"What will you do at the banquet?" ... "Beg. The clearest view of men is from below." - Telemachus and Odysseus
As Odysseus returns to Ithaca and meets his son, he answers his question by planning to be a humble beggar in his return. This line also hit rather hard. In the many years Odysseus had been gone, there have been many suitors hoping for his wife's hand, and his throne. Many men have tried to claim both her and the throne by many different means. Learning from his chat with Agamemnon in the underworld, he listens to his guidance to lay low and assess before striking in his return. His line stating that the clearest view is from the bottom is very contrary to what many would say in leadership. Contemporary leadership would see the leader at the top of the pyramid, able to see a great distance and being able to plan it as necessary. Personally, I've always felt the opposite and loved this quote.
By leading from the bottom when you can, you are able to much more accurately assess situations with people who are actually doing the frontline dirty work, or in sports actually playing the games. You are also able to build a foundation within the culture by being present in the everyday pieces of it, with the people doing the work. In building from the bottom up WITH PRESENCE, you can then ensure a quicker adjustment to your expectations, with more trust and belief from those you are leading because you are right there with them!
"One man's idea, one man's trick... to break Zeus's Law forever. We live in a world of palaces, trades, language, blinded with beauty... until we broke it." - Odysseus
Before Odysseus wipes out nearly all the suitors in his palace, and the rest kneel to recognize him as the returning King, he has a conversation with his wife Penelope. He does so somewhat under a guise that he is not himself but someone who served with him. At the end of his repentant monologue, it becomes clear who he is. Much is made throughout the movie of "Zeus's Law," which essentially is to be welcoming to travelers and strangers, and to be good people to those you meet. At the time in this Bronze Age, it was what made the world civilized and the "Sea People" who did not believe in this law were the threat to civilization. Odysseus confesses that part of why he stayed away was that at the peak of his leadership, standing at the top of a burning Troy, responsible for taking down the world's biggest and most impenetrable city, he knew he had committed the greatest sin. He was the first person to break Zeus's Law.
By leading the Trojans to believe they were paying homage to one of their Gods with the Trojan Horse, he had deceived them using the very laws that made the world civil at the time, burning down and taking over their city as a reward for accepting their gift. His monologue hit as a confession of his ultimate sin that had then gone on to steer the rest of the world in that direction and essentially creating the "Sea People" everyone now fears.
At the end of the movie this monologue was an experienced leader's confession. There are so many times as we lead that we do things that we think are the best thing we can do at a given time, only to look back and feel bad about them later. Things don't always turn out the way we want in the long run, even if they do in the short run sometimes (the opposite can be true as well). Sometimes, we have such tunnel vision on accomplishing one thing, that we become blind to our method of doing so. It was a great check to ensure that we should always seek to see the bigger picture in what we are doing, ensuring that we are not just seeking to win in the short term, but in the long run as well.
SUMMARY
All-in-all, I am thankful that God adjusted my day and took me to see The Odyssey. While I was anticipating simply enjoying the movie, probably three-quarters of the way through it, this post started to come together in my head, and now it's 12:21 AM and I'm just finishing typing it all. I hope you enjoyed this little movie review post because in many ways, the movie was MOMENTOUS for me this evening.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Have you ever had to withhold information from others in a serious situation where you had to make a hard decision? Consider how those affected by it responded to you in that moment. Now think of how you have responded to leaders in your life who may have been dealing with a similar situation. Did you give them grace in their decision or ridicule? How can you be better in both aspects going forward?
Odysseus only found his way home when he stopped fighting for control and gave himself to the storm. Is there something in your leadership or life that you are white-knuckling right now, that might resolve itself the moment you let go of it?
Can you think of your own "Trojan Horse" Moment, where you accomplished something you had once longed for and stressed about, only to realize an empty feeling upon achieving it? If so, why do you think that was? How can you ensure that the fruits of the labor you dedicate yourself to align with the person you are called to be?