27/28
To reclaim his family and all he has lost, Odysseus must rediscover his strength
After 20 years, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, where he finds his wife held prisoner by suitors vying to become king, and his son facing death at their hands. This is the third time Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche have starred together in a film.
Odysseus: For Some, War Becomes Home
They previously worked together in Wuthering Heights (1992) and The English Patient (1996).. Penelope: How can people find their way to war, but not their way home?
In fact, the two are kept quite apart for most of the build-up, which only makes the catharsis more potent in the most intense, thriller-like later part of the otherwise slower-paced film
Focused on immersing the viewer in the multi-faceted pain and suffering of Penelope and Odysseus during Odysseus’ return home to Ithaca, this treatise feels like a systematic exploration of the challenges many soldiers face upon returning from active duty, including post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, reintegration into their former lives with family and society, and flashbacks to memories and pain suffered and inflicted, and the resulting internal change that is irreversible. The Return is powered by a great cast to allow the viewer to experience this roller coaster ride that the two key characters take to considerable heights, the latter thanks to the unique and peculiar resilience of both Penelope and Odysseus at this difficult time in their lives, and without the support of each other.
This is a great and very relevant work that must be experienced!
Fiennes brings his unique style of portraying suffering to this work – a great extension of his wonderful skill set from his neighboring portraits of pain and anguish in Spider and The End of the Affair. Binoche is the perfect choice for Penelope, as the viewer can be somewhat tricked into feeling and hoping that the two will reunite in much the same way they were close in The English Patient, and Pasolini uses this to create additional tension in this work for those whose recollection of The English Patient is vivid.