Binoche and Fiennes Talk Pasolini’s New Odyssey-Inspired Movie
“The English patient” and “Wuthering Heights” co-stars Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes meet again as another iconic on-screen couple, this time incarnating Odysseus and Penelope in Uberto Pasolini’s new movie, “The Return”, described as an out-of-the-box re-telling of the last rhapsody of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey.
Following a world first at Toronto in September, the movie had its Greek premiere at Thessaloniki International Film Festival on Saturday, in the presence of the director and the lead actors, who answered questions during a press conference moderated by the Festival’s head of programming, Yorgos Krassakopoulos.
The previous day, Binoche and Fiennes had received honorary Golden Alexander awards for being “not just great actors, but also two courageous explorers of human feelings, pioneers of their art, genuine narrators of unique stories,” as explained by the Festival’s Artistic Director, Orestis Andreadakis.
Work in progress for thirty years
“The Return” director Uberto Pasolini disclosed that he had been thinking about making a movie on the Odyssey for thirty years until he finally approached the starring duo with a proposal.
“That is to say, 10 years longer than it took Odysseus to battle in Troy, to embark on his return, to engage in love affairs with the Mediterranean’s most beautiful women, to kill 108 suitors, at least according to Homer, and at last, end up within Penelope’s arms. In our film we had to murder far fewer men, I’d like for that to be noted,” the director joked.
“When I was invited to join Odysseus’s “dance,” I went along. It was all very beautiful: the writing, the dialogues and, of course, the idea of working with Ralph again,” Binoche commented.
Fiennes pointed out that the movie script held no surprises, as the Odyssey was a story he had known since he was a child, but he had to understand the director’s version which focused on the hero’s inner struggle.
“Uberto has managed to imbue his characters with psychological depth, offering us a beautiful challenge,” the acclaimed actor said.
Filming in Greece for Pasolini’s Odyssey movie
Filming for “The Return” took place primarily on Corfu and in the Peloponnese, aided by Greek co-producer Kostantinos Kontovrakis, who found it “incredibly important for a Greek producer to have the opportunity to make a movie based on the Odyssey epic, and to preserve the values keeping it relevant and timely.”
Working with Pasolini, Fiennes and Binoche was “a dream come true” for him.
For the leading duo, it was very important to visit the Greek locations before filming, in order to get to know the people and familiarize with the process.
“I’ve been to Ithaca twice, it is a place that exudes such a powerful energy,” said Fiennes. The actor has traveled extensively in Greece, especially in the Peloponnese.
“I find your country exceptional. There is a tremendous energy that I can identify with, which you can find on the islands, in its seas and landscapes, in its topography and mountains. Powerful spirits dwell over there. I experience a similar feeling on the west coast of Ireland,” Fiennes shared.
The acclaimed actor saw “The Return” as a profound experience. In his own words, “some roles are literally impossible to describe.”
Odysseus’ inner struggle put on screen
“The Return” has been from the start the story of a family reunion, according to Pasolini.
“Most of all, it is an odyssey of the mind and spirit, not a literal journey. This is the real inner struggle of Odysseus, and as the script evolved, more emphasis was placed on the inner conflicts and problems of the family. We focused more on the people rather than the myths,” he stated.
Fiennes describes his role of Odysseus as a man who painstakingly arrives home after much suffering, unsure if he can stay: “A man who is mentally shattered by all the hardships of the journey, an inner journey that goes through Penelope, with whom he is at a tragic impasse, as they are unable to reconnect after all they have been through.”
“All of us, in one way or another, are seeking our very own personal Ithaca. Odyssey speaks to us all about the struggle to return. We are all on a journey and return is the question we carry within us,” he reflected on the deeper meaning of the movie.
For Binoche, the long-awaited return to Ithaca is irrespective of the form it may take or the meaning it may hold for each person. To her, teaming up with Ralph Fiennes – in what she believes, judging by age, could consist their last film together – and having been able to turn Uberto Pasolini’s vision into reality, was landing up at a personal Ithaca.
Homeric Penelope’s similarities to a modern woman
Despite the fact that The Odyssey was written more than 2,600 years ago, its most iconic female character, Penelope, a universal symbol of spousal love and fidelity, draws more similarities to a modern woman than one would imagine.
For Juliette Binoche, Penelope’s greatest challenge was maintaining her mental health.
“Penelope faces a nightmare day in and day out, pretending that everything is fine. She is much more complicated than a woman who is just awaiting her husband’s return. She must employ a cunning way to deal with the dark side of humanity. You never confront the devil face to face, but sideways. And thus, she manages to deal with a situation that would otherwise destroy her,” she observes.
Answering what her role as Penelope adds to the image of the modern woman, Binoche said that is “a deeply personal matter,” which resonates with different kinds of women, in a variety of ways.
“Penelope, even as an archetype, is a very modern woman. She embarks on her own journey and comes face to face with what it means to have faith. The patience required of this woman is immense,” the French star commented.
“If we try to form parallels between the story and today’s standards, we would say it is an attempt of coordinating and bringing together our feminine and masculine sides, but also an attempt to return to the essence, to the heart of ourselves, to home. As such, although a classic work, it remains more contemporary than ever,” Binoche stressed.
Odyssey’s multiple interpretations reflected in movie
Pasolini added to Binoche’s remarks on her heroine that Homer’s works are open to multiple interpretations, and, from a feminist standpoint, there are two ways to interpret it.
“The first is that Penelope is a woman submissive in nature, while the second, which makes more sense to me, is that Penelope is a woman who makes her choices. Penelope is in charge of what is going on in the island. She has the power to make decisions, she changes the course of events, she is a woman fully capable of taking on responsibilities,” the director believes.
On the subject of distractions in Odysseus’ journey, Pasolini argued that for the hero, the main internal struggle has to do with violence: “Although a man who avoids and abhors violence, Odysseus eventually confronts the obligation to turn to it”.
On Fiennes’ opinion, “it’s a terrible violation of his humanity, hiding within it a relentless question: when is it okay to utilize violence in order to get what you want?”
“By the finale, we all want him to get his house back from the suitors, who are the representation of the malevolent forces trying to grasp something that doesn’t belong to them. Odysseus knows he must resort to violence. I often return to the text of the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna speaks to the warrior prince Arjuna about his sacred duty to fight. Our destiny and our destination are always greater than the small battles that scare us. I believe that Odysseus too must enter this zone of violence to complete his sacred duty,” the on-screen Odysseus concluded.
“The Return” will be released in Greek theaters by Rosebud 21 on November 28, and in the U.S.A. on December 6, by Bleecker Street.
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