Original subtitles

- Ibrahim X : @sle1i

One face!

One fleet!

One war!

One man!

One thought!

One trick!

A trick to breach the walls of Troy!

And burn it, level it amidst screams!

What does this mean?

A gift

for Athena.

We share the same gods,

respect their gift.

Pull it out of the water!

Bring it to the temple of Athena.

The war is over.

Face!

Fleet!

War!

Man!

Stop!

Not that song.

Mama's boy!

Run, my boy,

run!

I'm reminding them whose wine this is.

I don't want the song about Odysseus, but Odysseus himself.

And you welcome suitors into his home every night?

In this world,

a man does what he wants, and I do what I can.

Today I am a man, Mother.

Then throw them out,

violate the law of Zeus, give them a reason to attack you.

I've already lost one husband.

I refuse to lose a son, too.

Father will return. - Where is he?

It's been eight years since Troy fell,

and almost twenty years since he left us.

Where is he?

He is our guest, just like you.

Are you calling us beggars?

I'm saying we've been hosting you for three years.

We are abusing your hospitality,

because your mother refuses to choose.

She is already married. - Odysseus is dead.

What do you know about my father?

That his meat is tough, and his wine is bad.

You've been drinking the best for two years straight.

I know he hasn't returned.

Not yet.

You cry for a father

you didn't even know,

like a whining bastard.

No one is sure who their father is.

You can't be sure about mine.

I knew him.

As children, we watched him hunt.

I volunteered for Troy.

He told me to stay,

and watch over you.

But,

Sparta is full of veterans from Troy,

it's a goldmine of information.

Are you the son of Odysseus?

Go to Sparta,

go to Menelaus.

He will receive you.

The queen wants to speak to the stranger.

She hungers for news.

But no false hopes.

She has a way of knowing if anyone has seen Odysseus.

Do you see this man?

He is almost blind,

but he beats travelers to death

when they lie about my father.

Too fast.

How do you know?

You don't need eyes to hear a rushed combination.

Mentor, push him.

Too fast.

He is as polite as you are!

He only listened to your father.

Where did he dig him up from?

They met here.

- I'll take it. - For your boy?

For hunting.

He had a good nose.

Don't move.

Do you want an ugly scar?

Why do you make the bowstring twang? - It's fair.

- To warn the prey? - To fight honorably.

You weren't fighting, you were hunting.

Hunting is a disguised battle.

Clever, but your tricks will bring you trouble.

Try again,

being less rushed and more precise.

You don't win with perfect defense alone.

Invite an attack.

How? Hesitate.

Expose yourself to the opponent's sword. His attack helps you.

Did you teach my father that?

He taught me that.

One.

"You won't always be the strongest or the fastest,

so be the smartest."

What would he do

if he found these suitors in his home?

I can't even imagine what he would do to them.

There are so many of them.

You kill two and the rest back off,

these bullies and cowards.

They were supposed to go to Troy, but as Agamemnon approached,

their fathers hid them.

He knew that Agamemnon's war would take many years and lives.

So he chose his army by lot.

Name? Sinon.

- Draw. - No.

- Name? - Antinous.

Draw.

Yes.

By lot?

Antinous says he was a volunteer.

They are up to something.

Your son wants to replace Sinon.

No way.

He is staying here for his family.

He will look after your son too. Of course.

He goes with me.

He wanted Antinous to watch over me?

Odysseus wanted to avoid the humiliation of those fathers,

he felt compassion.

He loved your mother and you more than glory.

He knew this would take years.

Did he tell my mother?

- Ask her. - Eumaeus...

Will he return one day?

Argos believes so.

I've never seen a dog live for 20 years.

He has survived long after his master.

I'm sorry to interrupt you.

I'm in no hurry.

According to the elders, once I finish your grandfather's shroud,

I will have to remarry.

Why?

Ithaca still has no king.

They want to be protected.

From what?

From the Sea People.

Those are travelers' tales.

Travelers tell us about the world, about the fall of Troy,

and they all speak of attacks by the Sea People.

Who are the Sea People?

No one knows, but the Elders want to prepare us.

To prepare us?

Our civilization is the greatest of all time.

Look at this grand home,

these ancient stones,

left at the mercy of greedy freeloaders.

The building is nothing,

if its meaning is neglected.

The law of Zeus.

To treat others well.

They trample it, destroying everything.

How can you imagine marrying one of them?

Because it was long ago.

Your father asked me.

Agamemnon is our king.

The Trojans abducted his sister-in-law. - Or she ran away with them.

Either way, the walls of Troy are considered impregnable.

We will camp in front of this great city,

to challenge them to come out and fight.

And the years will pass, Telemachus will grow,

and you will learn to live without me.

Menelaus will give up on Helen.

This is Agamemnon's pretext

to break Troy's control over the trade routes.

He will not back down.

Never.

And if you refuse?

He will take our son.

He won't do it.

He sacrificed his own daughter

for a favorable wind.

Did the gods demand his daughter's life?

The power of a sacrifice

depends on what it costs the one who makes it.

That's monstrous.

And merciless.

I won't be back soon,

if I return at all.

What if we run away?

With your fastest ship and your best sailors,

we'll head for the horizon,

hand in hand,

we'll sail west at dusk,

to chase the elusive sun.

There is a world outside these walls.

Agamemnon's vengeance

will descend upon Ithaca.

Promise me this.

If I do not return

before Telemachus grows up,

promise me

to marry another.

No more sacrifices.

Love is not a sacrifice.

Of course it is.

I want to spare you that.

That is not up to you.

Promise me.

And you promise me to return.

What if I can't?

Then it won't be your memory deciding for me.

Take my brooch,

always keep it with you and Athena will bring you home.

I'm not sure it will suit me.

If travelers say they have seen you,

I will ask what you were wearing

and I will know if they are lying.

If there really is a Sea People,

today Ithaca has no king to gather an army.

I can take the throne.

Come.

Pull the bowstring.

It's not fair!

You say only he could do it.

He let others try.

He lined up the axes...

No one else has succeeded.

They are completely ruining us,

so that you marry one of them before I can reign.

Menelaus returned years ago.

Everyone returned. - Those who survived!

Maybe he is dead.

Then this palace would be mine.

We must find out,

and I must go to Menelaus for that.

Telemachus, those suitors mean you harm.

Do you think I don't know?

Every night they push me to make a mistake.

And out there, on the seas, on the roads,

they won't need an excuse to kill you!

You don't want me to reign.

You want to keep me in my place so you can remain queen of Ithaca.

I'm tired of being a queen without my king!

Without your king?

Or just a king?

And you think you are ready to replace your father?

You are a child.

Too loud, Melanthius.

Take off your spurs in the palace. You're a cowherd, not a horseman.

And you are a swineherd. What right do you have to tell me that?

Our master put me in charge of his shepherds.

We haven't had a master for a long time, you old blind fool,

and you are as unwelcome here as this dog,

Argos.

Argos.

Master, he did nothing.

So you are the one who stinks?

Leave this old dog alone.

Which one? - Both of us.

Are you insulting me?

You wanted to protect my father's hunting dog.

A hunting dog?

Look at this wreck.

Take it out. We are going to eat.

Don't you see he is suffering?

Then let me finish him.

Leave him!

Did you see?

Did you all see?

He attacked me! Right is on my side!

Mercy!

Don't hurt my son.

Take it easy, Polybus.

This young pup got worked up, have mercy.

Drink more of his wine, I'll manage.

This is my father's hunting dog.

He lives only to see Odysseus return.

I'll throw him on the dung heap outside, so he'll see him a bit sooner.

This dog stays outside!

Think before you sacrifice yourself for an animal.

Eurycleia,

send food to the ships

by reliable people.

This will ruin your mother.

If I stay, I will have to fight and there is no one to protect me.

I need news of my father.

Ithaca will support me if Odysseus is indeed dead.

The suitors will be furious, you won't return!

Tell Mentor to come to the ships before dawn.

What do you want me to tell your mother?

To hold on as long as she can.

The ship is ready, the tide is good.

Have I ever told you that you have the eyes of a wise man, the eyes of Athena?

Once or twice.

Aren't you going to ask where we are going?

Where are we going? - To look for my father.

He is alive, the wind and the waves say so.

He is wandering somewhere, wounded, lost, who knows?

But he is alive.

Dreams again?

People drowning

in some

dark place.

Light from a fire upon the stone. I forgot.

By choice?

Why are the words of the gods incomprehensible?

Who doesn't understand thunder?

Or fire?

A child's smile, a good harvest?

You hide from us.

Look.

Who moves this cloud?

Who gathers these birds?

Who stirs the waters?

Who were you talking to?

Athena appeared to me again.

She tells me to remember.

To leave. - Why leave?

We have everything we need.

How long have I been here, Calypso?

I have a home somewhere.

I have someone

in the wide world.

How do you know?

I don't know.

I feel it.

This life can be eternal.

That is only for the gods.

Are you a goddess?

You want to remember. What if the memory destroys your happiness?

Then it was an illusion.

Don't eat them anymore. - I adore them.

No more lotus flowers.

What memories do you have?

After Troy.

Troy?

We won the war.

And then?

Ten years on this cursed shore.

We're going home!

Think of those we leave behind here.

Do we have enough provisions?

We plundered Troy enough.

A stop or two won't kill us.

Pull in the oars.

At ease!

Pull in the oars!

We raise the sail and follow the south winds.

Agamemnon is rowing towards the western ports.

There are more mouths to feed.

We'll find somewhere to dock.

It's risky.

I've followed Agamemnon enough.

With a little luck and good winds,

we'll see some of the world while we head home before Agamemnon.

Keep the Great Bear on the right.

Odysseus!

Land!

Do you see?

Lucky you.

Our provisions were running out.

Send a party ashore

to ask for three weeks' worth of food.

And if they refuse us?

Are you in a hurry to get home?

Prepare your weapons!

To beg, to borrow,

to plunder.

Why did they abandon the village instead of welcoming us?

They mistook us for the Sea People.

We are Greeks from Ithaca.

Perhaps you know we defeated Troy.

We follow the south winds.

If we keep this course,

we won't like what we find.

After years of war

no one could stand between my men

and their homeland.

Even me.

Did something happen there?

To chase the elusive sun.

Land!

Here we go.

Very lucky.

Sheep live in herds.

Let's follow it.

Someone lives here.

And makes cheese.

It's quite delicious!

And there is plenty! - Let's go.

We have nothing to exchange.

The law of Zeus.

Does the inhabitant know the law of Zeus, or Zeus?

Everyone knows the law of Zeus.

Keep the fire going

for the master's return.

Step back from the fire.

Scatter!

I think he's asleep.

Wait.

The rock.

It's too heavy.

We will be trapped.

Tomorrow morning,

when he takes his animals out,

we run for the entrance.

Get some rest.

Come on!

We might wedge something in the entrance to leave a gap.

Maybe.

But what?

This log.

He will notice.

We'll put the thinner end in the fire.

Do we have...?

How many animals are there?

Twenty or thirty.

There are too many of us.

On the way back, two of us go out.

Or get killed.

Go out with your heads down among the animals and split up.

So he only catches one. - Exactly.

We must go out the four of us, two by two.

Why try that?

He ate two men.

He will want two more.

What do we do with the body? - What do you mean?

Leave it to rot here?

As food for this thing?

We honor our dead, Odysseus.

He died so we could escape. We will honor him by escaping.

Poseidon, vengeance!

He speaks.

Why didn't he say anything earlier?

Do you talk to ants?

Should we try to reason with him?

I think we are past that stage.

What are you doing?

Row!

Harder!

Why did you shoot an arrow at him?

That beast killed good soldiers.

And that beast

was the son of Poseidon.

When we gouged out his eye, he screamed his name.

He was a monster.

I heard the cry too.

Will the sea be against us? And the wind.

How are we to return if Poseidon is against us?

Do not believe in omens and sacrifices.

How many times since Troy have I seen you in tears praying to Athena?

Did she not show mercy?

Take this.

Wear it,

in memory of those whom we failed to bury.

Help yourself, and the gods will help you.

After that

with every stormy sea or headwind,

the men considered themselves cursed.

By the way, where are they?

When will you let me see them again?

They would help me remember.

Did I have a wife, children, a son?

How long have I been here?

A long time.

If I have a son,

how old is he?

How do you speak to a king?

Don't worry.

Don't open your mouth, and if they ask you,

we are Cretan merchants.

We will see how to approach the king.

Welcome!

Thank you. It seems you are in the midst of...

This way.

Where are you taking us?

The king insists on receiving foreigners personally.

Sit.

Not you.

You.

Accept our hospitality as Zeus requires,

before perhaps telling us who you are.

Just in time!

We are celebrating my daughter's wedding.

Tomorrow she leaves to start a new life.

You don't look much like a beggar. Do you know who I am?

I am Menelaus,

son of Atreus, brother of Agamemnon,

husband of Helen.

Do you remember who she is?

This face

launched a thousand ships.

Surely barely 500 are left.

So many died in Troy for that face.

Because of your brother's ambition.

This one is familiar to me.

Ajax,

Patroclus,

Achilles.

I miss these less than another warrior.

The cleverest of us all.

Ten years of rotting on that beach.

Sinking and tearing ourselves apart, until one man

found a solution.

Odysseus.

Do you know the story of the horse?

Experienced from within?

We spent days in there,

crammed inside since the departure of the ships.

Odysseus didn't want anyone to know, not even Sinon,

the soldier we had left behind.

With the first two high tides, we had drownings.

We soaked silently in piss and shit.

A gift

for Athena.

We have the same gods,

respect their gift.

We must burn it!

Burn it!

This is a gift for Athena!

This is a gift for Athena!

To the gates!

He waited for a moonless night to cover the plain of Troy.

Everyone to the gates!

To the gates!

Come on!

You know the rest.

Are you moved? You should hear how the storytellers praise him.

I have heard them.

They were not with you.

With your father, Odysseus.

You look so much like him.

Where did you leave him?

In Troy.

The gods supported our just victory...

Just?

They supported our just victory, but not our journeys.

I returned after years. He did not.

Some regretted returning.

Tell him

what happened to your brother.

The fate the gods decreed for him after your righteous struggle.

That he was welcomed as a hero.

That Agamemnon returned years before us.

How he was welcomed by his queen, my twin Clytemnestra.

Tell him...

He is not here because of my brother!

But for his father.

I know nothing about him since Troy.

Nothing?

Nor your people?

Agamemnon's men, transients, merchants?

Have you come to gather rumors and tales?

You are in the right place.

Anyone spreading stories about Odysseus?

They say he is rich, he is poor,

or that he died, that he is in prison. Who will say more?

In prison?

What prison

would hold such a man.

Tell me what you remember.

The rest will follow.

The men believed more and more that I had offended Poseidon.

We survived storm after storm,

we strayed off course

and got lost.

Hello.

We come in peace.

We need food.

Food!

Don't you understand? - He is just a child.

In that case, what are his parents like?

Don't be afraid.

Quickly, to the ships!

My bow!

Wait.

Row! - Wait!

Go!

Row! - Wait!

Come on!

Get this tub moving!

Turn left,

follow the coast.

What if they have ships? - We must get away.

Without provisions we cannot sail blindly.

We are lost.

We must stock up and find our bearings.

To the left.

There!

Smoke!

Follow the shore, we're anchoring on the beach!

Raise the oars!

Send a party ashore.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

Leave someone with the boats.

We prefer that you stay.

We?

All of us.

The survivors.

Is this a mutiny?

Decide for yourself.

Give me the bow, I'll find food for us,

even if you return empty-handed.

Do not be afraid.

Everything is fine, we won't harm you!

If I submit to you.

We won't harm you.

I am Eurylochus. And you?

Circe.

We need food.

I have food.

A lot of food.

I'll take care of it.

Your weapons and armor,

put them in the back.

Do you like my fine pieces?

Why do you have so many?

Who knows when strangers will arrive?

These men,

what gluttons.

They never have enough.

Eurylochus!

They're gone! Is no one here?

Give me your dagger.

Stay by the boats!

Come on, come!

Are you coming by sea?

Are you alone?

My pigs are getting attached to you.

Are you hungry?

Leave your weapons outside

and accept the hospitality of Zeus.

Catch a pig, you'll slaughter it for dinner.

I don't know who you are, but you're no peasant.

Leave it.

This stew smells good.

It'll be enough for both of us.

Who tells you we're only two?

Who else is here?

That is the question.

You say you're alone,

but no one comes here alone.

Is that so?

You can only get here by sea.

Where are your companions?

I'm looking for them.

Has anyone been here?

There is so much food. - Do you doubt me?

In you?

An obviously hungry traveler who doesn't touch the food,

who claims to be a sailor

and wears the armor of a great warrior

and who violates the law of Zeus,

carrying a dagger where he is invited.

You have a sharp eye.

Sharpened by the gods.

Do they send you insights?

Truths,

sometimes.

Do they know where my men are?

Your men? - Exactly.

They would know.

Would you tell me?

Maybe.

If you give me your dagger.

But why would I help a liar who rejected my hospitality?

Your men came and now they are gone.

They left?

Leaving their rings?

Bad idea.

No! - What is this raven of yours?

Put down that dagger or I'll strangle her to find out.

Spare her. - Is she a relative of yours?

Your mother?

Your sister.

You turned her into this, and my men into pigs.

I didn't turn your men, look at them!

This is what they really are, look!

These disgusting

and primal instincts that you value in battle!

They raped and pillaged everywhere because of you.

Do you think they did it by force, just to obey you?

A commander mistakes the savagery of his men for discipline.

You don't seem that naive,

but you still sent them here,

where I live alone.

A horde of vile soldiers

with empty stomachs and hot blood!

Did you think they would respect me

in my own home?

Look at them, get to know your men!

Did they hurt you?

They would have.

They only want to go home.

Let them go home.

Turn back.

Turn back.

Put your disguise back on.

Turn back.

Put your disguise back on.

Odysseus.

We are going back on board, stock up on provisions.

Leave the meat.

Don't leave this witch alive.

Who gave her her powers? Your gods.

Get water.

We weigh anchor at dawn.

Why do you leave her like that?

We understand each other better this way.

Forgive us if we offended you.

Help us get home,

to find the trade routes.

You are too lost.

What do you mean?

The blind Tiresias knew... Only the blind Tiresias knows the way.

Tiresias? In the realm of Hades.

No one sails to hell and returns from there.

You will succeed.

Sail north, towards the twilight.

Then enter the lands where the river of fire

meets the river of ice.

There, dig a pit,

pour into it the blood of a sacrifice,

summon the dead

and find out how to get home.

You,

not your men.

Did you curse them?

It's not a curse,

but the truth.

Your men do not want you to defy the gods,

but the gods say that only you will return.

Then I will defy the gods.

Sinon.

This is Odysseus.

Sinon,

this is Odysseus.

Let him drink, Odysseus,

and you will hear his story.

Odysseus?

You lied to everyone.

Did you have to lie to me too?

You had to believe.

Why did you volunteer?

Don't you remember?

I prayed to take Antinous's place,

when they took him.

He had paid your family to take his place.

If the Trojans don't spare me,

if I don't return,

take this to my father.

Tell him everything I did.

Odysseus?

Don't hesitate to embellish.

Didn't you entrust me with the truth?

I was ready to die for you!

Dying, a man tells the truth. You had to believe.

I died because of your lie.

I know, I was there with you.

I heard you repeat, with your dying breath, the lie

that won us the war.

I was so close that I felt your blood.

What comfort does it bring me

to find out you were in that horse only thanks to the dead?

Which dead?

Many veterans of your campaigns wander these places.

The dead gather to mourn the living

and to welcome the new dead.

My father's shadow found me.

To comfort you? - Shadows do not comfort.

They ask about the living who have harmed them.

My father died poor,

alone,

begging for scraps from people like Antinous.

Did Antinous cheat you?

And he is probably doing the same to you.

How so? - Who is protecting your wife and your son?

My wife does not worry me.

Ask Agamemnon about his return home.

Is Agamemnon here?

You buried me with dignity in Troy,

thank you,

but you neglected others.

I did what I could.

When you return,

take a ship,

sail west into the unknown until you reach land.

And there offer a sacrifice

and honor your men.

Do you still have the lot?

Of course.

If you return,

pay Antinous back tenfold for his shame.

Count on me.

My king.

Odysseus.

What are you doing here?

As a victor, you were heading home.

You, Odysseus,

my most skilled general, wouldn't get trapped like me.

Are you lost like us too?

My misfortune was that I returned,

that I was welcomed by my beautiful wife,

washed,

anointed,

softened,

only to learn a harsh lesson:

that I had once poisoned her heart,

that she loved another.

She and her lover had been plotting my murder for years.

Odysseus?

My son Orestes,

did he avenge me?

How should I know?

I am still trying to get home.

Don't repeat my mistake,

don't cross the threshold with hope for crowns and praise.

Arrive in disguise,

take your time,

analyze.

Do you understand?

I know what I must do. - In part.

My prophecy is not for their ears.

Go back on board.

Go southwest,

pass far from the sirens.

Their song lures your men and they all perish.

I will prevent that,

I will plug their ears with wax.

After the sirens,

you choose between the whirlpool Charybdis and the monster Scylla.

The whirlpool will kill you all,

the monster in the cliff will kill only six.

But your stubbornness not to sacrifice more lives will kill everyone.

I will make that choice.

In the end, when hunger and mutiny threaten,

they will want to go ashore where the sun god keeps his cattle,

and they will slaughter Apollo's herds.

Zeus will kill them as punishment.

Do you see?

I will stop them.

Why do you care more about these lives than those already lost?

I can still protect them from the gods.

But not from themselves.

What is this?

Your unburied men.

They want you to share their shame.

Quickly!

Is this our fate?

Is this our destiny?

We escaped from Hell,

leaving behind so many fallen comrades.

I must save the rest.

What happened to them?

Did they leave me here?

Will they return?

Did you attack them?

Did you attack them?

Eat.

You told me to stop the lotus.

Just tonight, so you can get some sleep.

And tomorrow, when you're ready, you will remember.

You will remember your crew,

your family.

A wife?

I have a wife?

Do not fear, Melantho!

No stranger will enter.

Despite this barrier,

after three years I am no longer a stranger to you.

Are you trying to marry me or ruin my reputation?

Melantho is discreet.

That's exactly why I'm here - because I care about your reputation.

We all see you working.

I am making progress slowly but surely.

But every night you unravel what you've done.

Leave us.

You cannot expect her to be loyal to a master she doesn't know.

I thought she was loyal to me.

She will be, once you marry me.

The slaves

must keep their loyalty for the future,

and this house is looking for a master,

just as Ithaca is looking for a king.

The king of Ithaca will return.

Not at all.

Did you know that as a child I wanted to follow him to Troy?

He didn't tell me.

Odysseus refused.

He knew that Ithaca deserved a future without him.

And you saw me as part of that future.

I won't tell the other suitors about

your deception.

Finish your work.

It's time to say goodbye to him.

Why would you marry a woman who loves another?

Your loyalty to Odysseus

is one of your greatest qualities.

I love you.

I want you to choose me and stop all of this.

Don't tell me you're not tired

of the waiting, of the uncertainty.

You did your duty

year after year,

after year.

It's time to think of yourself,

to start living again.

That is what Odysseus would want.

I will take care of you.

My queen.

And my son?

The throne is his. He is the heir.

Unless we have a child.

Where is Telemachus?

In the countryside,

to see his grandfather.

She's lying,

he sailed.

He went in search of his father.

Where?

To Sparta,

to Menelaus.

Do we have to go there?

You are always too loud, Melanthius, for a cowherd!

He was eavesdropping!

I was looking for Argos.

He stays where he is. Go back to the farm.

We will send Melanthius to get your pigs.

You are not needed in the palace, old man.

I only obey my mistress.

Does she even know your name?

Get out!

Telemachus will surely return through the temple in Pylos.

Wait for him there with your men.

And you stay to court the queen?

No way.

He must die on the way.

Irus has a plan.

I want him and his men to die in some ditch with their throats slit.

Telemachus and his men will be ready to face bandits on the road,

but if bandits replace the priests in the temple...

Bring a piece of Telemachus for proof.

His nose.

Would you recognize him only by his nose?

And his ears too.

Who trained you?

My father's swineherd.

His swineherd? His most loyal servant.

Odysseus left his most loyal servant at home?

He was always the most sensible.

Agamemnon listened only to him.

He should have listened better.

What happened to your brother?

His wife betrayed him,

she killed him.

What did he do?

His son Orestes killed them.

He killed his mother?

He avenged his father,

but do not fear,

your mother is nothing like Clytemnestra.

Perhaps,

but the suitors convinced the elders to marry her off again.

It is not good for the throne to remain empty.

You know what they say about the Sea People.

Did they attack you? - No, but danger is approaching.

Sparta is ready.

And Ithaca?

She must be able to raise an army.

The throne must be occupied.

So that is where the battle is fought, my boy.

You ran away from the problem

and left your mother at the mercy of the suitors.

Should I hire mercenaries?

Go home and kill the suitors?

Kill wealthy and powerful guests?

You will be banished.

What should I do then?

Remove them without violating the law of Zeus.

I must take the throne

and find out if Odysseus is alive.

This has nothing to do with a father you never knew.

You must act as a leader,

wherever Odysseus may be.

You must remember.

No.

I can do without the truth, I am happy here with you.

Then why are you gathering the debris to make a raft?

Remember your crew,

your journey.

I have heard of the sirens' song.

Plug their ears with wax.

Not mine. Tie me to the mast.

Why? - To hear the sirens.

Bad idea. No one has survived after hearing them.

It's a good idea to be the first.

Even if I beg you,

do not untie me until we are out of range.

Check their hearing.

Double rations for the first who says, "I hear!"

What was that song?

Everything a man could wish for,

and then

everything we wish we had never desired.

It was that sweet itch you want to scratch,

before you realize it is under the skin, unreachable.

Then the itch becomes unbearable.

It said that what we want most

is the most forbidden,

and that the most forbidden

is what we already had

and lost.

It was the song of my betrayed promises.

It told me that I don't really want to go home.

It's boiling!

Straight ahead!

Charybdis,

the monstrous whirlpool.

Raise the sails!

Quickly!

Raise the anchor!

To the open sea?

It's already pulling us in.

Course north!

Through the strait? - It's too narrow.

Enter the whirlpool,

follow the slope to build momentum and come out the other side.

Courage, we will make it.

We are going through the strait. The strait!

Oars in!

Starboard oars,

ready to stop!

On my signal!

Oars out!

We made it through!

We did it!

We did it.

Thanks to the gods.

Hold the course!

Hold the course!

You knew

and said nothing!

You would have refused to pass through here.

And these men would still be alive!

We would have all died!

You had no right!

That was entirely my right and my duty!

That whirlpool would have swallowed every last one of us.

At least we survived. - Not all of us!

What else did Tiresias say?

I will land there!

We have no right, this is the island of the Sun God!

We need to make repairs!

The men are exhausted, we lost six companions!

We are going ashore to rest on dry land.

You will all die!

What did Tiresias tell me?

That you will all die,

if you slaughter

the cattle of the Sun God who lives on this island.

You will all die.

In that case,

we go ashore, we cook only our own provisions.

We gather fruit,

we draw water and that is all!

Swear it.

Swear, all of you.

Do you see?

The wind is leading us straight there!

We rest, we repair,

and we leave as soon as the wind turns.

Grab this rope!

Did your men keep their word?

Yes.

For a long time.

But the wind wouldn't turn.

The constant breeze that brought us so easily to shore

prevented any departure.

And the food began to run out.

Run!

Did you think that by eating in secret you would deceive the Sun God?

To deceive you.

I am not the problem,

I wanted to keep you alive.

Tiresias warned you, Circe and the gods also warned you.

The word of the gods is incomprehensible.

Who doesn't understand suffering?

Blood, death?

Do you see the loss of a man as an accident or as a consequence?

I see it as a consequence of my failure.

What if their death marked their own failure?

I lead them.

I brought them here.

And who brought you?

Why do you place yourself above the gods and take this responsibility?

Why don't you want to return?

What were you hoping for?

They had nothing left to eat.

Have mercy!

Because of my mercy we are on this piece of junk!

I warned you! - That's true.

And we chose to drown instead of starving to death.

Right now is our chance.

The wind has died down!

This calm was only enough to lure us into Poseidon's ocean

under the heavens of Zeus.

Steer us against the wind!

Let us pray to the gods!

Steer us against the wind!

Steer us against the wind!

Surrender to the gods!

Pray to Poseidon!

Beg for forgiveness!

My last memory was the unyielding hand of Zeus.

Eurylochus!

I do not know their fate.

You know it.

The fate you foretold for them.

I washed up alone on your shore.

You washed up on my shore

with a piece of your ship and not one of your men,

half-dead, unconscious.

I watched over you, the lost one,

for days

and weeks.

I knew the lotus would ease your awakening,

that you would suffer more in body than in spirit.

And it worked!

You liked it very much,

you ate of it willingly.

And as I cared for you.

Thank you.

I grew to love you.

How long have I been here?

I told myself I had to wean you off,

that you had the strength to remember.

Answer me, Calypso. - You were happy.

And you were happy.

We were happy for years.

For years?

Seven years.

You made me eat lotus flowers to keep me captive.

I saved your life.

I restored your body,

but I couldn't bring myself to restore your mind.

You were happy,

but your heart

was always elsewhere,

and it was inevitable that in the end your mind would follow it too.

How...

The lotus clouds the mind

and undermines the will, but it doesn't change who you are.

You weren't ready to return without knowing why.

Now I am.

As I foresaw.

How?

You held something tightly clenched in your hand during the first weeks

and you called out.

Mostly Athena,

but sometimes you would scream another name.

Penelope.

Help me return.

That is what I am doing.

You are a man who strives to master his fate.

But you have no power over this.

You must surrender to the storm,

surrender to Poseidon,

accept your punishment.

Zeus will not allow him to kill you.

Give up the fight, let go and live.

This is a leap into the unknown,

that you have not yet made, Odysseus.

Odysseus?

Where am I?

Don't you recognize your homeland?

Zeus welcomes you, strangers.

How many are you?

Half a dozen.

In need of food?

And provisions

for the journey.

Where are you going? We need pigs.

We are going to Pylos.

Are you pilgrims?

Do we look like pilgrims?

I can't see well.

Zeus obliges me to feed you, but I cannot sell these pigs.

Don't worry, we won't pay.

Say hello to your mother for me.

Tell her I'm sorry

for Troy and for everything that happened in my name.

I'm sorry I have no news of your father.

But you learned something new

about what kind of man he is.

Now I want to see him some day even more.

Where are your guard dogs, old man?

I am burning their remains.

Can Zeus heal you, stranger?

Did they attack you?

Did those dogs save your shepherds?

No, first we burned his brothers.

What happened to Ithaca?

Darkness.

The law of Zeus is in pieces,

a kingdom without a king after my master's death.

Your master?

Odysseus.

The hero of the Trojan War.

But Odysseus is alive.

Another beggar and his false hopes!

Enough!

Telemachus...

Telemachus?

He is in danger, I cannot help him.

Others in Ithaca must be ready to help Odysseus's son.

The palace is ruled by the suitors.

No one is left loyal to Odysseus.

And the queen?

The beautiful and wise Penelope,

held hostage by scoundrels

and soon forced to marry,

what will she do? Even without her son?

Drink.

What danger threatens Telemachus?

He is on his way back from Sparta.

The suitors sent bandits to kill him at the temple in Pylos.

Give me food for the journey.

You won't catch up to the bandits.

If I reach Pylos before Telemachus, I will be able to warn him.

Why are you helping him?

Don't be angry with my answer.

I served under Odysseus in Troy. - Really?

A demanding leader. But fair!

Fair and worthy of being followed.

Did you love him?

Like a son.

He is not dead.

Will he return?

Soon.

To carry out his revenge.

The most terrible.

I will do the talking. Let's not reveal who you are.

Then we should have come without guards.

They will be useful to us if we have trouble along the way.

I bear a message. Wait!

Eumaeus sends me!

Bring this beggar to me.

Your men stay here, and your weapons too.

Zeus welcomes you, strangers.

Have you traveled a long way?

Not that much.

Are you coming to rest tonight?

We come to make a sacrifice to Athena.

And we will consider any offer of hospitality.

Good. The beggar stays outside.

He has a message for me.

Did Eumaeus send you?

Yes, master.

What is the message?

It is confidential.

These men are...

These men are priests.

Get out, old man.

Go away, stranger.

I spared an old man this week,

but he was blind. I won't spare...

Not bad for a beggar.

No one is born a beggar.

Put this priestly tunic over your armor.

Help me carry him. - We must leave him.

To get away unnoticed.

This is not how we honor the dead. - This is how we survive.

He was my mentor.

And maybe Athena in disguise. - It was Mentor.

When you are out of danger, we will go to the unknown west to honor him.

Those were servants of the suitors.

More will come. Let's go.

During the night? - Better than staying here.

Mentor is in the ancient temple of Athena.

For now, let's honor him with fire.

In the fire!

So, beggar, did you know Mentor?

I told you, I was not born a beggar.

You have the eyes of a wise man, the eyes of Athena.

Don't look for gods in men, you will be disappointed.

Then tell me who you are.

My name is Sinon,

I am an old soldier who fought under your father's command in Troy.

You knew my father?

I have obeyed him since time immemorial.

So he is alive?

He is alive.

But where is he?

He is very close

and sent me as a scout to investigate the situation.

My mother won't believe it! - Don't tell her anything.

Nothing at all?

Tell her,

that you have decided she must marry again.

Is he testing her? Does he doubt her?

No,

but she has every reason to have forgotten him.

Are there any loyal servants left?

A few.

When Odysseus reveals himself, everyone will be loyal.

You must gather the suitors in the palace.

That is never a problem.

Do you bring gifts from Menelaus?

Yes, on my ship.

Good.

Return as a prince,

order a feast to be held.

I will be there.

What will you do there?

I will beg.

From the bottom, things are seen more clearly.

How many suitors are there?

Dozens.

- But if all his men are like you... - He has none.

Are you the only one?

And you.

Telemachus has returned. - What?

Telemachus has returned!

Who says so? - Everyone!

Where is Telemachus?

My queen, it's better if you stay upstairs!

Is it true?

He returned!

I am here,

let's celebrate tonight.

If there are any crumbs left to celebrate anything.

Do not fear, my brave suitors will pamper us for your return.

I'm glad to see you unharmed.

I'm glad you recovered.

It's time to return you to the palace.

What did you learn about your father?

Nothing.

War stories, but nothing about his fate after Troy.

I'm sorry, mother.

In Sparta they only talk about the coming catastrophe,

the dark age that the Sea People will unleash, breaking the law of Zeus.

So it is true,

our civilization is collapsing.

Menelaus says we are defenseless with an empty throne,

so we came up with a plan.

A plan?

To drive out the suitors,

you must choose.

You want me to remarry?

Then the other candidates will kill each other

and I will have only one enemy left.

I am coming of age, I will tell the elders that Odysseus is dead,

and Menelaus will convince them to give me the throne.

You renounce your father, and I leave here with one of these snakes.

What a plan! - Suggest something better.

Let's lock everything, set it on fire

and burn these bastards!

You think if I marry again, life will go back to the way it was.

This world is over.

And in the new one

they will not cede power either to you or to Odysseus.

If he returns, he will have to kill them,

just as you will have to.

If I kill them,

their families will want revenge and I will be banished.

And without me, the throne is lost.

Because only a man can sit on it.

"An empty throne"?

I've been sitting on this empty throne for twenty years.

My erudition, my years of experience

mean nothing next to the hair on your beard.

Do you want peace

or revenge?

You want Odysseus!

Sing.

Oh, Muse, a face!

A face!

A fleet!

War!

In Troy!

Sing, oh Muse, of a man!

A man!

An idea!

Cunning!

Eumaeus, walk ahead of me.

Argos.

You will bury him on the cliff.

Where you found each other?

You are Odysseus.

You are my father.

I am a beggar.

And you,

are the worthy,

wonderful son

of Odysseus.

A son who,

when you finally meet,

will be his pride.

Welcome home,

stranger.

Because the darkness of victory

shrouds the storytellers of legends

and turns us all into blind poets and beggars!

Accept the hospitality of Zeus.

Give food to the stranger.

No, master.

I will go around the tables with my bowl.

Did you invite some disgusting parasite again?

This is just another beggar here.

Let's kill him before he impresses the Elders.

How?

Challenge him,

make him pick up a weapon.

He is no longer our young pup to be mocked.

So we return tonight to slaughter him.

Go away. Please.

I'm hungry. - Go away!

Can't you be generous with someone else's food?

There is no room in your bowl.

Indeed.

Here.

Do you think I have something for you?

Well, I have something for you.

You have something for me?

He has something for me!

What could a nasty, old sponger like you

possibly have

that would interest me?

Actually, this is yours.

I was asked to return it to you.

It's not mine.

Is that so?

Where did you find it?

Don't turn your back on me!

Antinous.

Respect beggars. - That is the law of Zeus.

The law of Zeus?

Is he a god?

Is he a god in disguise?

Tell us!

Are you a god,

lickspittle?

I am a veteran of the Trojan War.

A veteran of the Trojan War.

What is your name, veteran?

Sinon.

Does that name mean anything to you?

With it, I honor the bravest of the young men.

Sinon?

Wasn't he your shepherd's son?

It means nothing to me.

You wanted to replace him.

Where did you find this?

Where you will soon be.

Meaning?

With Hades.

Enough!

The feast is over!

Let's go.

It's not mine!

The queen wants to speak with you

when the hall empties and the fires are lit.

111

Good evening, traveler.

My queen.

Melantho,

let Eurycleia wash the stranger's feet.

No need.

My husband insisted on treating guests as family members.

Have you heard of my husband, Odysseus?

Of course.

From the songs.

I was in Troy, noble lady.

The songs must seem laughable to you.

They make me cry...

What are you crying for?

For what is lost.

For the lives?

And for the years,

and for everything else.

Did you know Odysseus in Troy?

Yes.

Did you notice anything unusual

about his clothes?

A strange brooch.

Strange?

Beautiful,

but unusual!

Describe it.

I will change the water.

It was a beautiful

gold brooch,

depicting Athena wrapped in a vine.

Did he wear it often?

He never took it off.

How did you manage to return, unlike Odysseus?

I haven't returned, not yet.

Why?

It is not always easy returning home.

This is true for both Odysseus and Ios.

The Odysseus I knew

would have found a way to return to me,

despite storms and winds.

What if the Odysseus you knew is lost?

What if,

one night,

in a foreign city,

what he saw

convinced him that the home he knew

can no longer exist?

What if,

coming out of the horse's womb

and opening the gates of Troy,

he had seen how ten years of rage

flood the city in a single night?

Come, everyone!

Quick!

We had left them

a gift,

a peace offering,

which they took

to their home.

We desecrated what is most sacred

between men,

and turned the battle...

Destroy their idols!

Into a hunt.

To burn down the walls of Troy

meant turning the whole world to ash,

including his own hearth.

And if he knew,

on that night,

passing through the fires

of anarchy and suffering...

And during the subsequent celebrations, drenched in sweat,

if he knew exactly

what he had done?

What you all had done.

The idea of a single man,

the cunning of one,

to break the law of Zeus

forever.

We lived in a world of palaces,

of exchange

and of the word,

blind to its beauty,

until we shattered it.

You are the Sea People.

Yes, my queen.

The trampling of the law of Zeus spreads like a plague,

our Bronze Age is collapsing.

Maybe he didn't want to see the ruins of his actions

anywhere,

and especially in his own home.

But Odysseus is alive

and will return to you at the decisive moment.

Either way,

I have lived long enough among his ruins.

Invite the suitors at dawn, gather the weapons.

Soon one suitor will be happy, and the rest will be vengeful.

Weapons will be forbidden for the contest

and the doors locked.

I will marry the one who wins my challenge.

How will we face them?

Not "we".

Their blood is promised to my hands.

And you would risk exile.

And you wouldn't?

Remove the weapons from their reach.

I understand.

Even unarmed, they are many

and you won't be armed.

I will be armed.

Your mother has taken care of it.

Take trusted servants,

to put the weapons upstairs.

Quickly, put the weapons away.

Quick.

Zeus seems to be interested in the outcome.

But what is this contest?

For years,

in my husband's absence,

you have taken over this palace for your feasts,

under the pretext of winning my hand.

Listening to you feasting,

how you fight,

how you bribe my servants

and desecrate my home,

I longed for Odysseus to return and see all this.

But last night,

I realized,

that since he is still not here,

he is not coming back.

That is why,

I am ready to marry anyone here,

who manages to string this hunting bow

and shoot an arrow through these twelve axes.

Step forward,

show what you can do!

Eumaeus?

Who starts?

Give me that bow.

There's no point.

For you.

As a child, I saw Odysseus do it with ease.

Then do it.

I'm waiting my turn.

Why don't we warm up and grease the bowstring?

It has dried out over the years.

Your turn.

There's no point.

My queen has the last word,

Odysseus cannot be replaced.

Some here have always known it

and would have followed this great man all the way to Troy,

if he had asked.

But he did not return,

so choose the best of us,

us, who failed your trial.

I haven't failed.

Throw these beggars out!

The doors are locked until the end of the contest.

The contest is over.

I want to try.

You're annoying us!

He has the right to try.

If you're giving up your place, give it to him.

You mock your mother's wish.

Her wish is for all of you to burn.

This archer is too old.

Let's see this expert in action.

Sponger!

Give up, old man!

Come on, friend,

that's enough.

Let him try.

It is you, Odysseus.

You'd better stay down.

Go!

Is it him?

It is him!

Go guard the weapons!

Where are the weapons? - Upstairs.

Go get them!

What are you waiting for?

He will kill us all.

Watch out!

I told you! Too loud, cowherd!

Yes!

Take the swords!

Take the shields!

The spears!

Use the spears!

Did you think you would kill us all?

Especially to kill you.

Finish him.

Father.

In Hades,

tell my people,

that I am going west to honor them.

And tell Sinon,

that I paid you back for the disgrace.

And now?

Did you defeat them?

Is he dead?

We tore the fragile bonds between men.

And through the dark ages that will follow,

the stories of Troy

will only be sung.

Odysseus, my love!

Odysseus,

my love,

you have returned.

At last,

in the final hour

to see my dear Ithaca

for the last time.

You have no right.

No, please, I waited so long.

You have no right to die!

Not death,

exile.

Telemachus will be king.

We will go to the unknown west

to honor my people

together.

With your fastest ship,

with your best sailors,

we will head for the horizon.

To chase the elusive sun.

Why will these stories only be sung?

Only songs will remind of those of us who could write.

Civilization will be reborn.

A new dawn will illuminate this darkened world,

and our mistakes will be forgotten once again.