20/22
After 20 years, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, where he finds his wife imprisoned by suitors vying for the kingship, and his son facing death at their hands. To win back his family and everything 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 home? Odysseus: For some, war becomes home. Focused on immersing the viewer in the multifactorial pain and suffering of Penelope and Odysseus during Odysseus’ return home According to Ithaca, this treatise aimed to explore, in a very systematic way, the challenges that many soldiers face upon returning from active service, including post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, reintegration into their previous life with family and society, flashbacks of memories and pain suffered and inflicted; and the resulting inner change that is irreversible. ‘The Return’ is carried by a great selection of actors that allow the viewer to experience this rollercoaster ride that sees the two main protagonists reach significant heights, the latter thanks to the unique and special perseverance of Penelope and Odysseus during this difficult time in their lives; and without each other’s support. In fact, both remain quite apart throughout most of the build-up, which only makes the catharsis in the most intense, thriller-like later part of the otherwise slower-paced 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 portrayals of pain and agony 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 the same way they were close throughout The English Patient, and Pasolini takes advantage of this to create additional tension in the two in this work, as the memory of The English Patient is vivid. This is a great and very relevant work that must be experienced!
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