It happens so quickly you might not even have time to digest it. But before Christopher Nolan immerses the audience in his vision of The Odyssey, he sets the stage with a few simple words. “A time of apparent magic,” reads a title card right at the start of the film. It’s an interesting choice, ripe for debate and discussion, especially the word “apparent.” Why would Nolan do that? Where did the idea come from?
In a new interview, which just so happens to be with fellow master filmmaker Park Chan-wook, Nolan answers both those questions. He’s asked about the phrase, the word “apparent,” and reveals the idea came from a little-known film called—checks notes—Star Wars.
“One of my earliest movie experiences—a very profound one—was seeing George Lucas’s first Star Wars,” Nolan said. He began that film with a title that said, ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’ That immediately told me how to watch the film. It put me in the right frame of mind to receive the imagery. I felt with this film I was chasing that kind of experience where you want to create a world that the audience loses themselves in and takes on its own terms. So I was looking for a phrase that would help the audience understand the terms of the story.”
Nolan’s phrase certainly does set the stage, clueing the audience into the fact we should be wary of what, exactly, is magic, what isn’t, and if there’s even magic at all.
“The word ‘apparent’ in particular was very much about acknowledging the idea that if we tell the story realistically, to some extent we have to explain why there is magic,” Nolan said. “I was interested in the idea that for a person living in the Bronze Age, there is magic all around you. Things you cannot explain. So there are fanciful, sometimes correct or incorrect explanations for the things you’re seeing and the mysteries of life. I wanted to put that in people’s heads as they started watching. However, what I find interesting in talking about the film is that I’m not sure as much has changed regarding how we understand the world around us as I thought when I started making the film.”
So yes. Saying The Odyssey is set in “a time of apparent magic” certainly covers the idea that, at the time the story is supposed to take place, there wasn’t a universal understanding of science, so much of the world would seem magical. But also, in a way, I think it reframes what we’re watching as a whole. If the magic is apparent, are the Gods real in this world? Is there a logical explanation behind the monsters and creations? I think Nolan would be fine with us all having a different opinion. And, he’d probably be even happier if we discussed whether things have changed at all.
You can watch the full interview below or head to The Film Stage for a full translation. The moment in question comes towards the end.
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