O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Since no one else wants to, I suppose I can discuss this obvious one...But I really really dig the Coen Brothers, and although I haven't seen the film in a really long time, the basics still stick with me.
And I must confess, I am incredibly interested and in love with the idea of retellings. It really draws me into it, whatever it may be.
So yeah, it's a retelling of the Odyssey. I really like the subtle hints at who characters are. Such as John Goodman's character having one eye and portraying the cyclops. Or the baptists and the Lotus Eaters (which, interestingly enough is the subject of a track on the new Opeth album "Watershed", which came out last week. The song it called "The Lotus Eater" but I'm not sure if there's any relevance...).
The film is set during the Depression, in the south somewhere, but it follows the original story very closely. In all honesty, that doesn't seem like a relevant time/place to set a retelling of the Odyssey but it works incredibly well. And it also adds a completely different take on it. Which is always cool.
Comments
That's one of my favorite movies, although I think I remember the Coen brothers saying in an interview that they'd never actually read the Odyssey. Anyone know about this?
Also, what is it do you think, if you had to put it into words, that fascinates you about retellings?
Posted by: Laura | June 9, 2008 7:56 PM