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Feature film · Homeric world · Odysseus and Penelope in Ithaca

The Return

Released · 2024

Homeric & Mycenaean · Greek Mythology

Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche play Odysseus and Penelope in Uberto Pasolini’s adaptation of the final movement of the Odyssey.

Ancient mosaic depicting Odysseus and the Sirens
Odysseus and the Sirens. Historical illustration; not a film still. Dennis G. Jarvis · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cropped and resized.

The production story

The Return concentrates on the homecoming: a survivor of war arrives in Ithaca, where Penelope and Telemachus face the pressure of the suitors. Its focus is the damaged family and the consequences of absence, rather than the voyage’s succession of monsters and adventures.

The film screened at Toronto in September 2024. The distributor’s press notes identify a co-production between Italy, Greece, the United Kingdom and France. This is a separate feature from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the PBS documentary Odysseus Returns.

Known filming locations

The official press notes credit location teams in Corfu and Chlemoutsi, Greece, and shooting at the Banditaccia necropolis in Cerveteri, Italy. These are documented locations, not an exhaustive itinerary.

Developments

  1. September 2024

    Listed in the official Toronto 2024 festival programme. Source ↗

Related Archaeopolis expertise

Armour, helmets and material culture for projects interpreting the Bronze Age and Homeric tradition.

Explore Mycenaean World Production Support →

For a contemporary interpretation of Odysseus, the epic household and hospitality at the table:

Explore the Homeric / Epic Menu →

For the bow and archery strand of Odysseus’s homecoming:

Explore Archery Equipment — Bows, Arrows & Quivers →

Independent production monitoring — inclusion does not imply a collaboration with Archaeopolis.