O'Dessa

I am an avid film geek but certainly not an expert. I took this film for what it was, with no expectations and just enjoyed the ride.

For me, I was hooked from the start, music was good, lyrics were very touching and the bizarre sci Fi world was a great touch.

Sometimes we over think our experiences and forget to just enjoy the moment and for me, I enjoyed every moment in this film. So much so; I am playing the album.

The cast were good and Sadie really shone and I enjoyed watching her. I'm sure we will see more of her in the decades to come.

Don't forget to open your minds, cherish the message given in this film and enjoy.

O'dessa, this traveling musician (rambler) who inherits the legendary magical guitar, is played by Sadie Sink, and she's fantastic! She looks really cool, and her performance makes you think this movie is going to be an epic adventure.

The world is a missed opportunity, though. It's got this corepunk, post-apocalyptic vibe, which is visually stunning - think bright colors and strong lighting. But the movie doesn't really show us enough of the world. We get hints, like a cool poster, but not the full picture. We needed more scenes to really get immersed in it.

The supporting characters get the short end of the stick because the story's not strong enough. Kelvin Harrison Jr. Plays a struggling artist, and Regina Hall plays a tough enforcer. They're both really good actors, but the script lets them down. The relationship between O'dessa and the artist feels forced. It's like the movie tells us they're supposed to be in love, but we don't see it.

On the bright side, the music is well-made, even if it's not my usual thing. It really helps set the mood. But the main bad guy, played by Murray Bartlett? He's totally unnecessary. He doesn't really do anything important. They could have just cut him out, and it wouldn't have changed anything.

Basically, the movie could have been awesome, but the story ruins it. It doesn't explore its cool world enough, and the forced relationship between the leads drags it down. The film circles around the same ideas and then rushes to the end without letting the characters grow or the story really develop. It's a clever idea with some good parts, but the way it's made just doesn't do it justice, It shows complexity met with mediocrity.

4/10 STARS - O'dessa is a musical set in a post-apocalyptic world. I admit the concept alone was a bit of a head scratcher because ... why? I decided to go ahead and screen it anyway and unfortunately it didn't really hit the mark with me. I'm not a huge fan of musicals to begin with (there are some exceptions like Better Man and Sound of Music - both of which I LOVE), but oddly, it wasn't the musical aspect of it that bothered me the most. In the beginning I was getting a little annoyed at how many songs there were in just the first 15-20 minutes of the film, but as the story went along, it wasn't as much of an issue with me, especially since some of those numbers happened during a performance setting so it fit in well enough with the narrative. The problem I have is that while a unique blend of genres can sometimes work well, most of the time they don't. And this was one such time. In many ways, O'dessa doesn't seem to know what it wants to be: powerful, moving musical, post-apocalyptic thriller drama, romance, hero's journey? It couldn't effectively be all four at the same time and consequently, some parts of the plot felt "underbaked" and lacking substance. The romance felt rushed and unearned, and some of the narrative flows felt sloppily stitched together. Another reviewer descried it as a "disjointed music video marathon" and having "style without purpose" and those are great ways to describe it. The acting was fine (I didn't even recognize Regina Hall, because of the wacky haircut she had), but some of the characters did feel a bit over the top and cookie-cutter - especially the main antagonist played by Murray Bartlett. I did enjoy the performance Kelvin Harrison, Jr. Gave us and Sadie Sink did an admirable job at the singing and guitar playing, but ultimately, O'Dessa was a lackluster viewing experience. Quick take video review will be available on my YouTube channel shortly.

O'Dessa is more than a dystopian musical thriller-it is an allegory woven with classical mythology, Orwellian warnings, and the transformative power of music. Beautifully shot in a bleak yet eerily mesmerizing future, the film reimagines Homer's Odyssey through the lens of a world where art and individualism are crushed under the weight of a sadistic, yet handsome, gleeful, hypo-manic TV Host/Dictator.

O'dessa is the young woman who is a symbol of resilience and with her inherited musical talent as a weapon, she embarks on a journey to ramble: from her folk ballads, evolving into folk-rock, hard rock, and finally an electrifying Eurobeat.

She busks her way through a grotesque totalitarian system where a single, omnipresent TV channel broadcasts torture as mass amusement-echoes Orwellian nightmares while recalling the grand, satirical spectacles of O Brother, Where Art Thou.

Her love interest is a very personable guy, another victim of a broken society.

This deep human connection of "one"-ness, could transcend to society, if she can fulfill her destiny by retrieving her father's six string guitar ... plus one.

Every aspect of O'dessa is meticulously crafted, from its haunting cinematography to its exhilarating soundtrack that fuses classic storytelling with modern soundscapes: power of art to challenge, inspire, and ultimately, free.

This is the film of our age: thrilling, deeply symbolic, and utterly unforgettable.

People say they want original stories, and O'dessa definitely brings one.

This film visually stunning with a bold, stylized, apocalyptic world, and in my opinion, the soundtrack is genuinely beautiful-Sadie Sink's voice is incredible and especially held my attention during those parts.

On the other hand, I didn't fully connect to the romance as much as I wanted to, but knowing it's rooted in the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice helped me appreciate it more. As a rock opera told almost entirely through song, it won't be for everyone, but it's ambitious, unique, and I got the message it was putting out there.