‘The Return’ Trailer – Ralph Fiennes Stars as Odysseus in Uberto Pasolini’s Adaptation of Ancient Greek Epic

Bleecker Street has unveiled the official trailer for The Return, Uberto Pasolini’s retelling of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, Odyssey. The film which world premiered earlier this year at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival, stars Academy Award-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus as he returns from war and fights to take back what he lost.

In addition to Fiennes, The Return stars Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer, Tom Rhys Harries, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria, Ayman Al Aboud, Amir Wilson, Francesco Bianchi, Nicolas Retrivi, Bruno Cassandra, Cosimo Desii, Ángela Molina, and Stefano Santomauro.

Release Date

Directed by Uberto Pasolini, The Return opens in US theaters on December 6, 2024.

Synopsis

After 20 years away Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has finally returned home but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan war. His beloved wife Penelope (Binoche) is now a prisoner in her own home, hounded by her many ambitious suitors to choose a new husband, a new king. Their son Telemachus (Plummer), who has grown up fatherless, is facing death at the hands of the suitors who see him as an obstacle in their relentless pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. Odysseus has changed too. Scarred by his experience of war, he is no longer the mighty warrior his people remember. But he is forced to face his past in order to rediscover the strength needed to save his family and win back the love he has lost.

“The Return was born from my passion for Homer’s epic, and from the extraordinary fact that despite the ubiquity of the Odyssey in Western culture, and its timeless and universal themes, cinema has never done justice to the story of this soldier’s return to his land, his wife, his son,” says director Uberto Pasolini on the film. “And today, Homer’s work forces us to confront the tragedy of war, of those who fight it and of those left behind, in a way that feels incredibly and sadly relevant.”

Reviews

Zachary Lee in a RogerEbert.com review praised the film, writing, “There’s an inherent and sweeping tragedy to “The Return” that makes Pasolini’s film feel truly epic, namely in the ways the visual language of the film mourns the bloodshed that would otherwise thrill in a picture like this.”

Ankit Jhunjhunwala in a The Playlist review gave the film a score of A-, writing, “Fiennes displays an impressively sinewy and shredded physique through much of “The Return.” He uncorks fiery machismo and badassery in his action scenes that we seldom see from him.”

Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for The Return.