The Return

"Some legends are more than myths."

2024 1h 56m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 551

HistoryDramaAdventure

Synopsis

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After twenty years away, Odysseus 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.

“Some legends are more than myths.”

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Cast

Ralph Fiennes
Odysseus
Juliette Binoche
Penelope
Charlie Plummer
Telemachus
Marwan Kenzari
Antinous
Claudio Santamaria
Eumeas
Ángela Molina
Eurycleia
Nikitas Tsakiroglou
Laertes
Tom Rhys Harries
Pisander

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Uberto Pasolini
Writers: Edward Bond, John Collee, Uberto Pasolini
Languages: English
Countries: Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 17% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Uberto Pasolini, shot by Marius Panduru. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Charap shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche and Charlie Plummer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Some legends are more than myths.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Uberto Pasolini directs. Marius Panduru behind the camera. Rachel Portman scores. David Charap cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, France. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 17% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 2 years ago.
3International production across 4 countries: Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, France.
4Directed by Uberto Pasolini, shot by Marius Panduru. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor David Charap shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche and Charlie Plummer carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Some legends are more than myths.".
9IMDB entry: tt19861162 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Marius Panduru
Original score: Rachel Portman
Editing: David Charap
Production design: Giuliano Pannuti
Costume design: Sergio Ballo
Makeup / hair: Dimitris Apostolidis
Stunt coordinator: Alex Anlos
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $3,300,444
Return: 17% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Return (2024)

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Uberto Pasolini

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-04-10
★ 6/10
There something about this film that reminded me of “The Mission” (1986) as it simply depicts the rudimentary lives of the people on Ithaca many years after their King Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) joined the forces of Agamemnon to fight the Trojan War. His wife, Queen Penelope (Juliette Binoche) has been struggling to raise their rather timid son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer) whilst being besieged by a slew of suitors who are convinced her husband is dead and want to marry their way onto the throne. When a man is washed up on the beach after a terrific storm, he is taken in by a friendly pig farmer who nurses him back to health and fills him in on the goings on in this now lawless and largely bankrupt kingdom. It’s pretty clear to us watching who he is, and the remainder of this drama illustrates the struggles of a man conflicted. Certainly, he wants to reclaim what once was his but he is also questioning whether or not he should, or even could, in the face of the scheming Antinous (Marwan Kenzari) who is fairly shamelessly using the safety of her son as leverage to be the one she chooses. Now if you are looking for a sword and sandals adventure, or anything you might have seen Ray Harryhausen animate, then this won’t be for you. It is a much more intense, personal, story of a man coming to terms with the ravages of time and war. There’s next to no sword play, no lions to fight or maidens luring him from to the rocks; indeed this whole story is entirely confined to the concluding phase of Homer’s epic that is solely based on the island. It’s also worth noting that Zeus, Apollo and their Olympian family do not feature at all in this history. It’s all told, bare bones, from the perspective of a character that Fiennes presents well enough, but for my money too theatrically. His less-is-more style coupled with a real paucity of dialogue and Uberto Pasolini’s borderline lethargic direction can make this an almost real-time and sluggish portrayal of an exhausted man, and exhausted population and an even more exhausted wife. On that last point, Binoche has precious little to say for herself throughout and though she looks the part, I didn’t think she was given enough to do to impose herself on the story until the very end, where the thing comes alive for a few moments - but again, in a very stage-bound fashion. The photography and locations do much to authenticate the story, as does the entire production design but given this project was thirty years from first page to first screening, too much objectivity had been lost to the labour of love that this clearly is for Fiennes and Pasolini and though it’s perfectly watchable, it’s just missing that something special.

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