24/16
After 20 years, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca. There he finds his wife captured by suitors vying for the kingship, and his son facing death at his hands. To regain his family and all he has lost, Odysseus must rediscover his strength. Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche star in a film together for the third time. 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? Odysseus: For some, war becomes home. This memoir focuses on immersing the viewer in the multifaceted pain and suffering of Penelope and Odysseus during Odysseus’ return to Ithaca and aims to examine in a fairly systematic way the challenges that many soldiers face upon returning from active duty, including PTSD and other psychological issues, reintegration into their former life with family and society, and flashbacks of memories and pains endured and inflicted and the resulting internal change that is irreversible. “The Return” is driven by a great casting selection that allows the viewer to experience this rollercoaster ride as the two main protagonists rise to significant heights, the latter reflecting the unique and special perseverance of Penelope and Odysseus during this difficult time in their lives and without mutual support. In fact, the two are kept quite separate for most of the build-up, which only makes the catharsis in the more intense and thriller-like later part of the otherwise slower film all the more powerful. Fiennes brings his unique style of portraying suffering to this work – a great extension of his wonderful skills from his adjacent depictions of pain and anguish in Spider and The End of an Affair. Binoche is the perfect choice for Penelope, as the viewer can somehow be led to feel and hope that the two will reunite in the same way they were close in The English Patient and Pasolini uses this to create additional emotion in this work. For those who still vividly remember “The English Patient”, this is a magnificent and very relevant work that must be experienced!
