The Odyssey 2026, which continues to receive endless praise, is drawing attention as even the dog that waited 20 years for its owner delivers a powerful performance.
The Odyssey 2026 has surpassed 700,000 advance ticket sales even in its third week after release, continuing an unstoppable box office craze, and the protagonist "Odysseus" (Matt Damon)'s dog "Argos" has become a character that moved audiences to tears and sparked heated conversation.
In the film, "Argos" is a hunting dog personally chosen by "Odysseus," and the special bond between the two characters begins early in the film. While "Odysseus" is talking with "Eumaeus" (John Leguizamo), during the process of choosing puppies that could become hunting dogs, he personally selects a pup that was about to be left behind, depicting the first meeting with "Argos."
Afterward, during the long years that "Odysseus" leaves Ithaca and does not return, "Argos" waits only for his owner and eventually becomes an old dog. When "Odysseus" finally returns to Ithaca disguised to hide the fact of his homecoming, only "Argos," blind and unable to move, immediately recognizes him — a scene remembered as a representative great moment that moved everyone. Having recognized his owner, "Argos" summons his last strength to weakly wag his tail to greet him, then quietly closes his eyes, showing their deep bond and 20 years of waiting in a brief instant and bringing tears to the audience's eyes.
Director Christopher Nolan took care to bring this short but powerful scene to life; he wanted to portray not merely a joyful reunion after 20 years but the moment a dying old dog recognizes his owner with the last of his strength. He cast 15-year-old veteran dog actor "Sawyer," who has appeared in films such as The Call of the Wild and the drama Shameless as well as various works and commercials. Although "Sawyer," having reached old age, was essentially enjoying retirement, he returned in front of the camera for The Odyssey 2026, and after finding "Odysseus" he was able to deliver an excellent performance through training to lift his head just a little and cautiously wag his tail.
There is also an attention-grabbing behind-the-scenes story about Nolan's real dog "Charlie." Nolan, who raised a dog for the first time after his children entered college, said, "The Odyssey 2026 is the ultimate dog movie. Only after becoming a dog owner could I properly prepare the ultimate dog movie," expressing his special affection for "Charlie."
It is said that during production of The Odyssey 2026 the script's working title was taken from the name of his dog, called "Charlie's Tale," showing how special it was. Spanning thousands of years, the story of "Argos," who waited for one person to the end, delivers deep emotion from Christopher Nolan to today's audiences.
Audiences who saw the film left heartfelt comments such as "I suddenly clenched my fists and sobbed at the Argos scene. I heard people around me sniffling too" (X_my***), "Just thinking of Argos from The Odyssey 2026 brings tears" (X_oo***), "The Odyssey 2026 has many overwhelming, emotionally turbulent scenes, but seeing Argos makes me cry every time" (X_v_***), "From the scene where they touch the hunting dog… I lost my mind.." (X_IO***), "Argos, you're the best dog ㅠㅠㅠㅠ" (X_yi***), "I said recently there's nothing that makes me cry these days, but I sobbed when I saw Argos wag his tail and my eyes are swollen" (X_sa***), "I couldn't hold back my wails at the Argos cut" (X_Jy***), "Best performance, Argos really sobbed big time" (X_ba***), "I came back from seeing The Odyssey 2026 and why didn't anyone tell me the Argos scene is sad...?" (X_LU***), and many others, leaving affectionate reviews about "Argos" and responding passionately to Argos's final moments. Some viewers even thought of their own dogs after watching the film, such as "I'm not the only one who came home from The Odyssey 2026 and shouted Argos!! at my dog, right?" (X_do***), "Our dog Ganaji is just two years younger than Argos so it was so sad; all dogs should stay healthy" (X_mo***), "I came home ten minutes after watching The Odyssey 2026 and a dog that looks like Argos greeted me wagging its tail" (X_wi***), among others.
That The Odyssey 2026, which boasts immense myth and overwhelming scale, ultimately moved audiences' hearts with the most universal emotions of "waiting and reunion" adds even deeper impression.
The Odyssey 2026 has currently drawn about 5.8 million cumulative viewers, and it is expected to reach 6 million this weekend and approach 7 million. Having recorded unprecedented advance ticket sales in its third week after release, its box office performance is highly anticipated. <
[Photo] IMDb, WIRED provided
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