The Return, Uberto Pasolini's 2024 adaptation of the final part of Homer's Odyssey, is being highlighted as an ideal companion piece to Christopher Nolan's new blockbuster The Odyssey, currently in cinemas. Where Nolan embraces the myth's spectacle, Pasolini's film strips away the fantastical elements to deliver a grounded, gritty account of Odysseus's homecoming after 20 years of war, focusing on the violence and emotional toll of his return to Ithaca rather than famous episodes like the Cyclops or the Sirens.

Ralph Fiennes stars as an aged, war-worn Odysseus who returns to a kingdom overrun by suitors and no longer recognises him. Shot on location in Greece (Corfu and the Peloponnese) and Italy, the film uses sun-bleached, weathered settings and practical production design to evoke a tangible Bronze Age world rather than a mythologised one. Critics praise Fiennes's restrained, physically weary performance—drawing comparisons to his recent roles in 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple—alongside dialogue that favours quiet honesty over theatricality. The Return is already available to stream on Paramount Plus.