The Odyssey: The Law that Holds Us Together
Wow. I saw this twice in IMAX, and I’m so glad I experienced it on the biggest screen possible. It’s a unique film in that’s entirely shot on imax cameras. Are there technical flaws? Sure, but the spectacle is worth it!
Christopher Nolan once said that every movie is ultimately a statement about mankind. The Odyssey has a lot to say about what it means to be human.
At its heart, the film revolves around the Law of Zeus. Interestingly, that law closely mirrors the law of the King in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). We know this as the Golden Rule—not because it’s merely a good rule, but because Christians have long understood it to be the greatest principle for living with one another. Jesus doesn’t say, “Treat people the way they treat you.” He says to treat them the way you would want to be treated. To the Greeks this was because you may encounter someone who is a god and not want to harm or offend them. To Jesus this is part of the second greatest commandment, love God first, love your neighbor second.
That, I think, is the central message of the film. Nolan, not a Christian but clearly conveys the idea that Matthew 7:12 is the foundation of what holds a civilization together. No Matthew 7:12, and civilization falls apart.
The opening image looks out over the sea from the foreground of Odysseus’ ship. It’s almost as if the film is saying, This ship will either bring you home or become your ruin. Whether it does one or the other depends on how you treat others and whether you honor what is good and just. The final image—the burning head of the Trojan Horse—feels like a rejection of deception, betrayal, and the endless cycle of violence. It’s a call to leave behind lies and backstabbing in favor of truthfulness, loyalty, and kindness.
Throughout the story, Odysseus struggles to truly honor anyone. He sacrifices his own men to win the war, to escape the Cyclops, and ultimately to find his way home. Again and again, his own survival comes at the expense of those entrusted to him. He rarely stops to honor the dead or care for those he has lost. But by the end, he begins to understand that greatness isn’t found in conquest—it is found in loyalty, sacrifice, and honoring others. Even if it cost him exile from his kingdom for breaking Zeus’ law. His final journey west becomes an act of remembrance and sacrificial love for his people, for his wife, and for his son.
In the end, The Odyssey isn’t just a story about getting home. It’s about becoming the kind of person who deserves to be home. It’s going low and taking the posture of a beggar before you can become the conquering king (Isaiah 53, Philippians 2). It’s a journey of learning to love others, to honor them, and to live faithfully within the fragile bonds that hold humanity together.