14/50
Line of Events
After a 20-year absence, Odysseus decides to return
The king has finally returned home, but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan War.
They previously worked together in The English Patient and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are teaming up for the third time in the film.
The Return is propelled by a great casting choice to allow the viewer to experience this rollercoaster ride, with the two main characters riding to considerable heights, the latter due to the exceptional and singular resilience of Penelope and Odysseus through this difficult period of their lives and without the support of each other
Focusing on immersing the viewer in the multi-faceted pain and suffering of Penelope and Odysseus as Odysseus returns home to Ithaca, this treatise seemed to explore quite systematically the challenges many soldiers face after returning from active duty, including PTSD and other mental health issues, reintegration into their previous lives with family and society, and flashbacks to memories and pain, both endured and inflicted, and the resulting internal change that is irreversible.
In fact, the two are kept quite separate for much of the build-up, which only makes the catharsis stronger in the most intense, thriller-like later part of an otherwise slower-moving film
Fiennes brings his unique style of portraying suffering to this work – a great extension of his magnificent skills from his adjacent portrayals of pain and anguish in Spider and The End of the Affair.
This is great and very important work that needs to be experienced!
Binoche is the perfect choice for the role of Penelope, as the viewer is tricked into feeling and hoping that these two will connect in the same way that they were close throughout The English Patient, and Pasolini uses this to build additional tension in this work for those whose memories of The English Patient are vivid.