The first, and most crucial, aspect about this film that you MUST recognize is that the story (set against the backdrop of Depression-era Mississippi) is based on Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey." I read (but never finished) this masterpiece as part of a school assignment way back in 1983. Even though I possess a vast intellect, I've packed-in a lot of information since that time so the details of the plot are hazy at best. From what I could remember, the movie was cleverly and humorously made to capture the adventures of Odysseus in a metaphorical sense. If I had read this poem in the last few years, I'm sure that I would have seen all of the elements that were in the movie, and my rating would have been even higher (potentially a 10). I would have enjoyed the movie so much more than I already did.
For me, if I knew nothing about "The Odyssey", I probably would have thought that the movie was, at best, quirky and at worst, downright idiotic. |
