Ralph Fiennes-Juliette Binoche Reunite with The Return, a take on Homer’s ‘The Odyssey
Fans of The English Patient will soon get their wish to see Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche reunite on screen for the first time in 25 years. The pair will star in star in a Bleecker Street production on Homer’s ancient classic “The Odyssey”, The Return directed by Uberto Pasolini. The film is planned for release in 2024.
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are set to reunite for the big screen more than two decades after Oscar winning classic The English Patient. This time, the acclaimed duo will of the historical epic The Return, which aspires to bring to life Homer’s The Odyssey. The film will be directed by Uberto Pasolini (Full Monty, Nowhere Special), who also co-wrote part of the script with Edward Bond (Blow-Up, Walkabout) and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).
The Return is set to begin production in Greece this spring in the regions of Corfu and the Peloponnese, before continuing in Italy, France and the UK, while Bleecker Street is planning a 2024 theatrical release for the movie.
The film revolves around a tormented King Odysseus played by Fiennes who washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable after 20 years at sea following the Trojan war. Odysseus returns to find his kingdom in disarray and his beloved wife Penelope, played by Binoche, a prisoner in her own home, cunningly deflecting ambitious suitors forcing her to choose a new husband and king to Ithaca. Their son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer), has grown up without a father figure to face death at the hands of the suitors who see him as an obstacle.
Their son Telemachus (Plummer), who has grown up fatherless, is facing death at the hands of the suitors who see him as an obstacle in their relentless pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. Odysseus has changed too.
Scarred by his experience of war, he is no longer the mighty warrior his people remember. But he is forced to face his past in order to rediscover the strength needed to save his family and win back the love he has lost.
