Die Irrfahrten des Odysseus, or Odyssea (1986)

68 min; Jiri Tyller, director

A joint production by DEFA-Studio für Trickfilme (East Germany) and Krátký Film Praha (Czechoslovakia)

1986’s Die Irrfahrten des Odysseus (or “The Wanderings of Odysseus,” also known by its Czech title Odyssea) is a little-known Czech feature film that was released by DEFA, the state-owned film studio of East Germany, with a soundtrack by the Dresdner Philharmonie.

While it does not strictly follow the Homeric text, it offers quite a close adaptation, with the elements arranged in a “straightened plot” (i.e., no flashbacks) that covers a lot of ground but also moves along ploddingly at times. This is largely due to its distinctive “cut-out” animation style, which is artsy and eye-catching but also unnatural in its limitation of bodily movement and facial expression. Martin Lindner notes that while the film has elements that might appeal to a youthful audience (e.g., a focus on Telemachus, little graphic violence), it doesn’t really succeed as such because it is too condensed (2008: 49). He goes on to note how the film ends on a strange note, not with a happy scene of familial reunion, but with a segue from Odysseus’ killing of the suitor Antinous to a montage of Greek vase paintings and a voiceover meditation on the undying wisdom of the ancients, which adds to its “somber” air.

More: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363704/

https://www.defa-stiftung.de/filme/filmsuche/die-irrfahrten-des-odysseus/