Pasolini has taken a classic, set thousands of years In the past, and very subtly pulled out themes about masculinity and power, about the psychological and emotional toll of war and PTSD, and its way of changing a person’s way of being. These are things that, unfortunately, still speak to the modern world.

With bold performances, a strong vision for the source material, and a wise decision to focus on this under-represented portion of this narrative, The Return makes for an effective character piece that proves these stories are not only timeless, they’re as timely as ever.

The Return looks rather cheap: there’s a real lack of pictorial beauty here, even if you can tell it was shot in a nice location. That wouldn’t be an issue if the prestige-television grit applied to this oft-told tale had a little more passion.

Ethan Vestby

The Film Stage