La odisea

This is a fine, beautifully crafted version of Homer's The Odyssey. Armand Assante gives a sterling performance as the King of Ithica, who's journey to return from the siege of Troy leads him on a 20-odd year quest to find his way home to his beloved wife Penelope.

If you have read The Odyssey, you will know what kind of challenge it would have been to adapt it into a coherent film and the filmmakers here did a superb job. In capturing all of the excitement, enticement and rollicking adventure of the epic, they brought to life a superlative story rich in imagination.

Kudos to the fine cast, including Eric Roberts as Eurymachus, Greta Scacchi as Penelope and an arresting cameo by Christopher Lee as the blind prophet Tiresias. Eduard Artemyev melodious score only adds to the epic feel.

Not without flaws (Troy is skimmed by a little too fast, and some of the visual effects are a little clunky), but the human element of the story is well dramatized. A supremely entertaining epic.