The excitement for Christopher Nolan’s next film is already building at an enormous pace. The Odyssey isn’t due to be released in cinemas until July 2026, but when the first images of Matt Damon’s character in full costume were released earlier this year, fans already started envisaging an all-timer of a film. Nolan’s film adapts the second poem from the ancient Greek poet Homer, with the first poem, The Iliad, previously being adapted by Wolfgang Petersen into Troy, the historical epic starring Brad Pitt and Eric Bana. That film is, in essence, the spiritual prequel to Nolan’s film, both in history and mythology.
Homer’s second poem, The Odyssey, is one of the most influential works of literature of all time and has seen many cinematic adaptations of its story, from O Brother, Where Art Thou to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Those films took Homer’s story and transplanted it to a different time/place, but for straight-up adaptations of the story, we have a more recent example. In 2024, the Italian director Uberto Pasolini made The Return. Starring Ralph Fiennes as our hero, Odysseus, and Juliette Binoche as his beleaguered wife, Penelope, Pasolini’s film takes a much more human approach to the story than the scale of Nolan’s film suggests that he will.
What is ‘The Return’ About?
The Return begins with Odysseus (Fiennes) washing up on the shores of Ithaca, his homeland and kingdom. His decade-long voyage home has meant that his wife, Penelope (Binoche), has had 108 suitors who want to become her husband and take the throne. They view Telemachus (Charlie Plummer), Odysseus’ son, as a threat. Penelope weaves while Antinous (Marwan Kenzari) presses her to marry him. Odysseus is discovered on the shore by Eumaeus (Claudio Santamaria), who promptly takes him to the palace. The suitors then force Odysseus to fight a huge man, but Odysseus is victorious. Penelope lays down a task for the suitors to determine who will be her husband, and only Odysseus succeeds. A bloody struggle ensues with the film’s ending being a powerful rumination on family and memory.
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‘The Return’ Dispenses With Mythology To Heighten the Drama
Anyone who knows anything about the epic poem will know that Odysseus encounters many famous mythical creatures on his journey home, such as the cyclops Polyphemus, the Lotus-Eaters, and Calypso. Pasolini’s film does away with all the mythological aspects of Homer’s epic poem, instead choosing to narrow in on the poem’s ending and Odysseus’ arrival home. This decision gives the film a more intimate feel, focusing on the human aspects of the story and the human decisions that lead to the film’s drama and action. Pasolini’s artistic decision to focus on a minimalistic, human-centric approach emphasizes personal struggles over the ‘man vs. god’ elements that feature in many films set in the ancient world.
By relying on the human elements of the story and film above all else, Pasolini draws out phenomenal performances from the cast across the board, but particularly from Fiennes and Binoche, reuniting almost twenty years after their Oscar-nominated turns in The English Patient. Fiennes delivers a compelling portrayal of a war-weary hero, capturing Odysseus’s internal conflict and resilience. His performance oscillates between subdued vulnerability and intense determination, reflecting the complexities of a man returning to a home fraught with challenges.
Binoche embodies Penelope with profound depth, portraying her as a strong yet vulnerable queen besieged by suitors. Her performance conveys the anguish of a woman torn between hope and despair, awaiting her husband’s return while fending off relentless suitors. The two lead performances give the film a theatrical, almost Shakespearean-like quality to the film. Much like the theater, this is an acting showcase and a chance for the two renowned film actors to show their chops, which they do with aplomb.
Besides the performances, The Return is a visual treat. The cinematography from Marius Panduru perfectly captures the rustic beauty of Ithaca. It further enhances the emotional depth of the film’s narrative, aesthetically complimenting the intimate portrayal of the story’s characters. Christopher Nolan’s film will undoubtedly be bigger and bolder in scale, given that he has reportedly secured one of the largest budgets of his career. He can have a larger cast, a grander scale, and a longer film as a result, letting him feature the story’s mythical creatures and full narrative. Pasolini’s film is smaller in scale, but that works for his artistic choices, giving the audience a fascinating insight into one of the greatest characters in all of literature.
The Return
- Release Date
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December 6, 2024
- Runtime
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116 Minutes
- Director
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Uberto Pasolini
- Writers
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Edward Bond, John Collee, Homer, Uberto Pasolini
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