The Return
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey wasn't quite the mythological epic I had hoped for but it did reignite my interest in ancient Greece and one film that had certainly benefitted from that blockbuster was 2024's The Return . This was the modestly budgeted drama which focuses on Odysseus as he lands in Ithaca many years later after he left for war but much has changed. Much like The Odyssey, director Uberto Pasolini does away with any of Homer's fantastical elements and roots the film firmly in reality so we are without any mention of giants, the cyclops or the sirens, which conveniently suits the film's smaller scale but will disappoint anyone in search of a more faithful adaptation. But we do get is a more considerately paced drama with great performances from Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche in the leading roles that I would say trump Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway with their American accents. However, the air of TV drama does hang around The Return whenever Fienn...
