Parents' Guide to The Return

Most previous adaptations of the Greek myths have focused on dramatic battles, divine interventions, and elaborate monsters in their retelling. But in The Return, the story of Odysseus' return to Ithaca is stripped back and told in a very human way. Director Uberto Pasolini forgoes a lot of the showmanship that might come from such an epic, and hones in on the story of a man returning from years at war, as unrecognizable to himself as he is to those around him. It relies heavily on the acting from Fiennes and Binoche, both of whom deliver strong performances led by quiet reflection and subtle anguish, rather than loud outbursts or melodrama. Stillness and silence create much of the atmosphere over the nearly two-hour runtime, which may lose the attention of some. Even the battle scene toward the end lacks the dynamism most viewers might expect; instead of a victorious moment of triumph, it's a sorrowful affair filled with the anguish of a man driven to the very violence he's struggled to forget. It's powerful but slow, intense but without many dramatic peaks—ultimately beautifully filmed and acted, if a little too long.