The Odyssey of Destiny
It took me a couple of false starts to really fall into the rhythms of “The Odyssey of Destiny.” It felt like I was missing parts of the story, and the first couple of times I started watching it, I rewound it to the beginning to make sure; the film felt very disjointed in it’s narrative, and it seemed like key elements of the world were less than explained. Once I started the film properly, and continued with it, the story, and how it was being told, became more clear, and more engaging. Sometimes it happens like that; don’t take my need to start over watching it as a sign of it not being worth seeing– it is.
Written and directed by Brent Hoover, “The Odyssey of Destiny” is an ambitious undertaking for a first-time feature. Here is a film set on the other side of WWIII, with a new world order in charge (personified by The Magistrate, played by Rob Springer), and following a freedom fighter who is leading the rebellion against The Magistrate. That freedom fighter is Christian Adkins (Zach Pappas), whose father was a leader in the fight before him, known as the Liberator. Christian has more than a legacy to fight for, though– there’s a woman he loves in Jen (Katelyn Farrugia), and they have a son together. However, a young girl named Ava (Elena Lazorishak) also needs him at this time, as the Magistrate has targeted her for very specific reasons in an attempt to quell people like Christian. The dilemma for Christian is a very emotional one, and it’s a key part of the final stretch of the film.
I mentioned earlier that the narrative of the film felt disjointed at the start, and indeed, it seems to continue in that through it’s 98 minutes. The reason, I realized, was that the structure came out of an older Ava (Meredith Jackson) being the person telling the story, and recalling Christian’s story through the words of his journal. Once I settled in to that (which I should have the first time I started watching, but anyway), the film became an easy watch for me from a storytelling standpoint. Yes, it was still a bit all over the place from going from a beach to a Naval warship to a house where Christian’s grandfather lives and not really having any strong narrative ties to connect them, but the point-of-view established early on makes it easier to go with, and just appreciate what an ambitious effort Hoover is taking on here.
There are some genuine issues in the film– the musical score seemed too intrusive and overwrought, and the film’s low-budget trappings were a little too obvious compared to the scope of the story it’s telling –but it’s impossible not to admire what Brent Hoover is trying to do. He wants to tell an epic story, and a love story that shifts between romantic love and love between a father and their child, while also dealing with a post-apocalyptic action thriller, as well. It’s a tall order, and as I said, the low-budget trappings are obvious, at times, but we still find ourselves swept up in the action, and drama, all the same. Hoover is, first and foremost, a talented and precise storyteller, and that carries “The Odyssey of Destiny” further than it might have any rights going otherwise. (Having an interesting leading man in Pappas helps, as well. Christian Adkins has to be compelling to watch, and Pappas provides that.) It’s difficult to tell expansive stories on little financial resources, but Hoover does just that, and does it in a way that makes me want to see what he has coming up next.
