The Return (2024 film)
The Return is a 2024 drama film directed by Uberto Pasolini and starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. It offers a modern retelling of the second half of Homer’s Odyssey, adapted by John Collee, Edward Bond, and Pasolini. The story follows Odysseus as he returns to Ithaca after the Trojan War, his wife Penelope facing pressure from suitors, and their son Telemachus. After a long journey filled with danger and doubt, Odysseus confronts the suitors, reveals his true identity to Penelope, and the couple begins to rebuild their life together.
Production notes: The project was announced in April 2022. Scriptwriters are Collee and Bond, with Pasolini and James Clayton producing. The film is a Italy-Greece-UK-France co-production, shot in Greece (Corfu and the Peloponnese) and Italy, with a budget around $20 million. Rachel Portman composed the score.
Release and viewing: The film premiered in the Gala section at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024. It was released in the United States on December 6, 2024 by Bleecker Street, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on April 11, 2025 by Modern Films, with earlier event screenings at the British Museum (April 9) and Curzon Mayfair (April 10). It also appeared in the Limelight section at the 54th Rotterdam International Film Festival in February 2025. The film runs 116 minutes and is in English. Worldwide box office reported around $3.2 million.
Reception: Critics praised the acting of Fiennes and Binoche and the film’s restrained, psychological approach to the myth, though some felt it minimized the mythic elements of the original story. Rotten Tomatoes shows a positive reception (around 78% from 85 reviews), while Metacritic lists a score of 66/100.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:07 (CET).