The Return | |
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Directed by | Uberto Pasolini |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | The Odyssey by Homer |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Marius Panduru |
Edited by | David Charap |
Music by | Rachel Portman |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | 01 Distribution (Italy) |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
The Return is a 2024 drama film directed by Uberto Pasolini and starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. The film is a retelling of Homer's Odyssey as adapted by Edward Bond, John Collee and Pasolini.
It premiered in the Gala section at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024, and will be theatrically released on December 6, 2024, in the United States by Bleecker Street.
Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up on the shores of his home island Ithaca after twenty years fighting in and returning from the Trojan War. Scarred by his experiences, he is unrecognisable from the mighty warrior king that left, 20 years before. His wife Penelope (Binoche) is now a prisoner in her own home, hounded by many suitors to choose a new husband that would take the throne. Odysseus and Penelope's son Telemachus (Plummer) is facing death at the hands of those who see him as a threat to their ambitions. Odysseus is forced to face his past in order to save his family and win back that which he has lost.[1]
The project was announced in April 2022. The script for the film was written by John Collee and Edward Bond. The film's director, Uberto Pasolini, and James Clayton produced the film. HanWay Films began handling international sales and took the project to the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[3] In February 2023 Bleecker Street were announced to have picked up North American rights and have Andrew Karpen and Kent Sanderson executive producing on the project. Roberto Sessa for Picomedia with Rai Cinema, Giorgos Karnavas and Konstantinos Kontovravkis for Heretic and Stéphane Moatti, Romain Le Grand, Vivien Aslanian and Marco Pacchioni for Kabo Films and Marvelous Production were also revealed as producers on the Italy-U.S.-Greece-U.K.-France co-production.[4]
The film marks the third time Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche have appeared together following the 1996 Oscar winner The English Patient and 1992's Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights.[5] In February 2023, Charlie Plummer and Marwan Kenzari were added to the cast.[6][7]
The film began production in Greece in the spring of 2023, with principal photography in the regions of Corfu and the Peloponnese, before continuing on to locations in Italy.[8] Filming had wrapped in Corfu by June 2023.[9]
In July 2024, The Return was announced as part of the Gala section at the Toronto International Film Festival scheduled for September 2024.[10] The film is scheduled to be theatrically released on December 6, 2024, in the United States by Bleecker Street.[11]