The Odyssey and the Long Road Home

Christopher Nolan turns one of Western literature’s oldest homecoming stories into something darker: an epic about war, moral consequence, and the difficult work of return. In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, we discuss how Nolan transforms Odysseus from a triumphant hero into a man slowly awakening to the destruction he has caused—and what the film’s treatment of hospitality, violated peace, guilt, and accountability reveals through a Jewish lens. Is it possible to come home after war has changed you? Can time heal wounds without teshuvah? And do those who disregard the moral order ultimately pay for what they destroy?

Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, pop culture fanboys, and lovers of all things Jewish. Join them every other week for a conversation about what’s going on in pop culture from a Jewish perspective and about Judaism through the lens of pop culture.

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