http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeGDBR0Ej_0
The opening scene of the Borne Identity can be compared to Odysseus's arrival in the kingdom of the Phaeacians. Jason is miraculously found alive drifting in the ocean on a very stormy night, just as Odysseus drifts ashore only after surviving with help from the Gods. Jason is found by strangers who clothe, feed and assist him, just as Odysseus is found by Nausicaa (a stranger) who does the exact same. Both the Phaeacians and the fisherman help these two lost seamen heal from their secretive journeys and give them tools to help them on their journey home. Both our male heroes are integrated into their new communities. Jason helps the fishermen fish and eats with them, without revealing his identity. Odysseus competes against the Phaeacian youth in competitive sport games and feasts with them as well. He is given a ship to go home, Jason is given money for the next leg of his journey. Jason doesn't reveal his identity (he is not aware of who he is), and Odysseus attempts to avoid divulging his identity as well. While in secrecy, they both reveal clues to their helpers. Jason has inherent physical reactions to certain things, as well as a chip under his skin revealing something of his past (a bank account number). Odysseus is grief stricken whenever a story is told or song is sung about Troy. The main difference is the fact that Jason is suffering from amnesia and cannot remember who he is, while Odysseus knows who he is but is avoiding telling the truth. Even in this difference, however, there are similarities. Part of the reason Odysseus never made it home is because of lotus fruit fed to his soldiers which made them forget their identities. Calypso can be seen as similar to Treadstone in the Borne movies - the organization and the woman both held the heroes captive, preventing them from being reunited with their former life. The last and most blatant similarity between the two epics is that both of these stories occur in the Mediterranean Sea!
The opening scene of the Borne Identity can be compared to Odysseus's arrival in the kingdom of the Phaeacians. Jason is miraculously found alive drifting in the ocean on a very stormy night, just as Odysseus drifts ashore only after surviving with help from the Gods. Jason is found by strangers who clothe, feed and assist him, just as Odysseus is found by Nausicaa (a stranger) who does the exact same. Both the Phaeacians and the fisherman help these two lost seamen heal from their secretive journeys and give them tools to help them on their journey home. Both our male heroes are integrated into their new communities. Jason helps the fishermen fish and eats with them, without revealing his identity. Odysseus competes against the Phaeacian youth in competitive sport games and feasts with them as well. He is given a ship to go home, Jason is given money for the next leg of his journey. Jason doesn't reveal his identity (he is not aware of who he is), and Odysseus attempts to avoid divulging his identity as well. While in secrecy, they both reveal clues to their helpers. Jason has inherent physical reactions to certain things, as well as a chip under his skin revealing something of his past (a bank account number). Odysseus is grief stricken whenever a story is told or song is sung about Troy. The main difference is the fact that Jason is suffering from amnesia and cannot remember who he is, while Odysseus knows who he is but is avoiding telling the truth. Even in this difference, however, there are similarities. Part of the reason Odysseus never made it home is because of lotus fruit fed to his soldiers which made them forget their identities. Calypso can be seen as similar to Treadstone in the Borne movies - the organization and the woman both held the heroes captive, preventing them from being reunited with their former life. The last and most blatant similarity between the two epics is that both of these stories occur in the Mediterranean Sea!
Cool parallel that I wasn't familiar with at all! The amnesia part, by the way, is something this movie and the 1954 Ulisse have in common.
ReplyDeleteI agree, The Bourne Identity, a popular film based off Robert Ludlum’s novel of the same name is a similar, if not perfect parallel to the Odyssey. Jason Bourne may not be working his way back to a loving wife or son, however the story follows an amnesiac firstly relearning his skills, and then trying to find a home and safety. The entire trilogy follows this theme, but differs more and more greatly from the Odyssey with each succinct film until it’s just as much a story of revenge as it is identity. The Bourne Identity is not a parallel to the most well-known books of the odyssey, 10-12 with the fanciful monsters and mythical creatures that Odysseus outsmarts and evades, but with the process and “relearning” his character goes through. In the beginning of the movie Bourne is found unconscious at sea by a fishing boat, upon rescue, he’s not even aware of his full name discovers he’s fallen victim to amnesia, and might as well have been naked like Odysseus if not for the PG-13 rating. Slowly he discovers he worked for the C.I.A. and was an operative or assassin of some kind. His first clue is when he is accosted by two policemen in a park he sleeps in, without really knowing how he disarms and incapacitates both of them. Odysseus never forgets how to fight, but does forget his wisdom and logic which is why he and his crew end up captured by the Cyclops. Throughout the movie, Bourne must evade police capture and only has his wits to do it, much like Odysseus’ only method of survival. The movie ends with Bourne returning to his love interest, similar to Odysseus’ return, but the trilogy ends with his escape from any association with the CIA, which is obviously not as faithful to the Odyssey.
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