17/34
After 20 years, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, where he finds his wife captured by rival suitors for the throne and his son facing death at their hands. Odysseus must find his strength to reclaim his family and everything he has lost. This is the third time Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche have starred together in a film. 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.. Focused on immersing the viewer in the multifaceted pain and suffering of Penelope and Odysseus as Odysseus returns home to Ithaca, this treatise seemed to explore quite systematically the challenges that many soldiers face upon returning from active duty , including PTSD and other mental health issues, re-establishing their former lives with family and society, and the flashbacks of memories and pain both endured and inflicted, and the resulting internal transformation that is irreversible. The Return is powered by a stellar cast to allow the viewer to experience this roller coaster ride that the two main characters ride to remarkable heights, the latter due to the unique and special resilience of both Penelope and Odysseus during this difficult time in their lives. and without each other’s support. In fact, the two are kept quite apart for most of the build-up, which only makes the catharsis more intense in the more intense, thriller-like later part of an otherwise slow-burning film. Fiennes brings a unique style of suffering depiction to this work – a brilliant extension of his wonderful skills at juxtaposing pain and anguish in Spider-Man and The End of the Affair. Binoche is a perfect choice for Penelope, as the viewer is tricked into feeling and hoping that the two will meet again in the same way they were close throughout The English Patient, and Pasolini uses that to add tension to this work for those whose memories of The English Patient are vivid. This is a great and deeply meaningful piece of work that must be experienced!