Life Is the Greatest Odyssey

Hennessy is delighted to announce the global launch of Life is the Greatest Odyssey, a poignant visual experience directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Damien Chazelle. This marks the third installment of the Maison’s Odyssey opus following successful collaborations with iconic directors Sir Ridley Scott (2019) and Nicolas Winding Refn (2016).

Inspired by the idea that Each drop of Hennessy X.O is an Odyssey, the director of Whiplash, La La Land, First Man, and Babylon contemplates how the smallest of moments can trigger a disruptive Odyssey of thoughts and memories. The film is scored by Chazelle’s long-time collaborator and Academy Award winner composer Justin Hurwitz.

Juxtaposing space and time, Damien Chazelle introduces the story of a musician who finds himself swept away by his life’s memories in a whirlwind adventure where places, people, sound, music, and emotions coalesce over the span of one sip of Hennessy X.O cognac. In his characteristic cinematic signature, the director ends the piece on a note of gratitude and hopefulness, prompting viewers to look inward and reflect on their own lives.

“The film centers around the idea that the most fleeting of emotions can trigger an odyssey wherein childhood, early adulthood, and the future overlap," said Damien Chazelle, film director, screenwriter, and producer. "With Hennessy X.O I looked into one person’s memories while leaving the audience to complete the picture.”

Prior to shooting the film in Prague, Damien Chazelle visited Hennessy’s Cognac cellars. An inspiring prelude that encouraged the decorated director to draw clear parallels between Hennessy’s artisanal methods and the art of filmmaking.