28/45
To regain his family and all he has lost, Odysseus must rediscover his power
Tale
After 20 years, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, where he finds his wife held captive by rival claimants to the throne, 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 men find their way to war, but not their way home?
and without the support of each other
Focused on immersing the viewer in the multi-faceted pain and suffering of Penelope and Odysseus during Odysseus’ return home to Ithaca, this treatise felt it necessary to explore quite systematically the challenges that many soldiers face upon returning from active duty, including PTSD and other mental health issues, reintegration into their former lives with family and society, and flashbacks to memories and pain both endured and inflicted, and the resulting inner change that is irreversible. The Return is fueled by a wide variety of casts to allow the viewer to experience this rollercoaster ride that the two key protagonists ride to significant heights, the latter thanks to the unique and remarkable resilience of both Penelope and Odysseus during this difficult time in their lives.
In fact, the two are kept quite separate for most of the build, which makes the catharsis stronger in the later, more intense, thriller-like, slower-burning part of the film
Fiennes brings his unique style of portraying suffering to this work – a great extension of his wonderful skill set from his adjacent portrayals of pain and anguish in Spider and The End of the Affair. Binoche is the perfect choice for Penelope, as the viewer could be somewhat tricked into feeling and hoping that the two will reunite in much the same way that they were brought together throughout The English Patient, and Pasolini exploits this to create additional tension in this work for those whose memory of the English Patient is vivid.
