Adrian Barich: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the movies that made me rethink my life

I went back to the movies last week. I know. Hold the front page.

It had been a while, but I was impressed by what Ben O’Shea, the movie expert at The West Australian, said about The Odyssey.

Have you seen it? It is spectacular at Innaloo’s IMAX. Three hours of gods, monsters, ships, battles, boulders and Matt Damon super desperate to get home.

Of course, I knew what was going to happen. Unlike my son who was sitting next to me, I have read the epic poem (or is it book?) by Homer (I know that’s hard to believe).

But, remarkably, having read this ancient Greek literature made Christopher Nolan’s movie more interesting, not less. It’s what happens to poor old Odysseus during the journey home.

It also got me thinking about one of my favourite questions: which movies can make you reassess what you think you know about life?

Here’s a couple of other options.

Beautiful Boy belongs very high on that list. It stars Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet as a father and son dealing with son Nic’s methamphetamine addiction. What makes it so brutal is that it’s not really a movie about drugs. It’s about a father watching someone he loves disappear in front of him, and the helplessness of wanting to save someone who ultimately has to save themselves.

The really painful question underneath it is: how do you keep loving someone when love isn’t enough to fix them?

About Time looks like a romantic comedy and then sneaks up behind you with a baseball bat. It makes you think about how you spend your ordinary days.

The Shawshank Redemption, of course, is about hope, friendship, regret and, again, the extraordinary value of time.

Good Will Hunting asks whether you are actually doing anything with the potential you’ve been given.

Dead Poets Society gives us “carpe diem” . . . which has been used a few times, effectively and ineffectively, on footy grounds all around Australia. “Carpe diem boys. Seize the bloody day!!!”

And then there’s Atonement. If you want a movie about love, guilt, regret and the catastrophic consequences of one bad decision, this is the one.

Get ready to ugly cry.

Aftersun is another one. You don’t necessarily understand why it has affected you until afterwards (at least that’s what happened to me).

And if you want something genuinely devastating, rather than merely inspirational, try Manchester By The Sea.

At the top of the list: The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas.

That movie still haunts me. It has one of those endings where you sit in silence through the credits wondering why you did this to yourself.

And then there is The Odyssey. The fascinating thing is the story remains so astonishingly modern.

I suppose it asks: after so much love, loss and adventure, can you ever really go home and be the same person who left?

And you’d have to think that Odysseus had a very awkward conversation with wife Penelope when he waltzed in after 10 years on the road.

Watch out for the cyclops — that scene is brilliant, poor old Polyphemus. I actually felt sorry for him.

I missed the Laestrygonians though. I had to go to the toilet.

In a three-hour movie, I can tell you that when the giants start throwing boulders at Odysseus’ ship is not a bad time to make a discreet visit to the WC.

The Laestrygonians are enormous cannibalistic people who attack Odysseus’ fleet and destroy almost all his ships by hurling huge rocks at them.

I saw none of it. But here’s what I think is worth watching for in The Odyssey.

Not the monsters, not the spectacle — watch Odysseus when he’s simply tired. That’s what makes the story extraordinary. It’s about what “home” means after the journey has changed you.

And perhaps that’s what The Odyssey taught me. Home is where the heart is.

Otherwise, the practical advice is: always know where the Laestrygonians are, and never underestimate the value of a good bathroom break.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to email, write or get in touch after my column about carers in WA. I was genuinely overwhelmed by the response.