For this year’s first ‘KOFA Double Feature’, we explore four films inspired by Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’, tracing the diverse ways the Greek epic has been reimagined for the screen to complement Christopher Nolan’s new adaptation.

The journey begins with Wolfgang Petersen’s 2004 epic ‘Troy’, a film that Christopher Nolan was originally attached to direct. Adapting the tale of the Trojan War as depicted in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, director Petersen offers a grounded take on the mythic story, dispensing with the Greek gods in favor of larger-than-life human heroes and villains. The film’s massive scale, achieved through practical filmmaking and state-of-the-art digital effects, remains awe-inspiring to behold. It is still the quintessential cinematic depiction of the Trojan War, and we are pleased to present the new 4K remaster in its Korean premiere, courtesy of Arrow Films.

After the fall of Troy, King of Ithaca Odysseus embarked on his legendary twenty-year journey home. This story has been adapted for the screen many times, most notably in Mario Camerini’s 1954 film ‘Ulysses’, starring Kirk Douglas in the title role, and Franco Rossi’s 1968 eight-episode European television miniseries, which remains one of the most faithful adaptations of Homer’s epic. Yet among the most fascinating interpretations is Franco Piavoli’s 1989 film ‘Nostos: The Return’. Using Odysseus’s journey as its foundation, the film is a lyrical meditation on the human desire to venture into the unknown of nature, and what director Piavoli calls the “sentimental core” that compels us to return home. A sensory experience whose only dialogue consists of untranslated fictional speech inspired by ancient Mediterranean languages, ‘Nostos: The Return’ is a work of transcendent beauty that screens in Korea for the first time.

We round out the program with two films that reimagine ‘The Odyssey’ far from the world of Ancient Greece. Set in the American South during the 1930s, the Coen brothers’ 2000 film ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ follows three escaped convicts in search of hidden treasure who unexpectedly discover a talent for performing folk songs. Also set in the American South is Anthony Minghella’s 2003 epic ‘Cold Mountain’, an American Civil War drama that follows a wounded Confederate soldier on his long homeward journey to the woman he loves. Both films testify to the enduring influence of Homer’s epic, demonstrating how its timeless themes continue to find new life in new historical and cultural contexts.