The Return - Homer meets Freud in this modest but engaging film

Spoiler Alert - Contains plot details that go beyond the Homeric myth!

Anyone vaguely familiar with Homer's works should know the story of Odysseus' return to Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War and being detained by various mythical creatures and supernaturally infused trials. 

His faithful wife, Queen Penelope is being hassled by a gang of unruly suitors who are not only eating her out of house and home but pressuring her to choose a new husband, a successor to Odysseus whom they presume died long ago.

It's one of the great Greek stories. Upon return, Odysseus and his son Telemachus kill the suitors, and the palace regains its divine grandeur and authority.

It's a fairly straightforward tale but this excellent film makes it anything but simple.

Delving into the imagined psyche of Odysseus, now older and exhausted,  we see a man practically shattered by all he has lost. If not experiencing an outright nervous breakdown, he's pretty damned close.

Meanwhile, Odysseus' intelligent and pretty wife, Penelope, has resisted all temptations, even if perhaps, she might have wanted to have slept with one or more of the suitors. The film leaves this a bit ambiguous. Or maybe not. You can decide.

Telemachus, on the other hand, goes from boy to man in full Freudian style. Before meeting his father he's 'hiding under the skirt' of his mother Penelope. Unable to do anything effective, the suitors' exploits persist unchecked and the realm is in tatters.

Upon meeting his father, the two have the 'big confrontation' and after insulting each other - who didn't have a blowout like that with their dad at some point? - they come to mutual respect and more importantly, Telemachus stops identifying with his mother and turns to his father to help vanquish the loutish suitors.

Pure Freud. And if you haven't guessed it, the film deftly portrays the resolution of the so-called Oedipus complex.

I can't recommend this film strongly enough. Gone are all of the hokey stunts often found in Hollywood epic storytelling. The killing is real and simple and mostly comes at the film's climax. No high-speed theatrics and warriors leaping through unrealistic distances in the air.

This is Homer as it should be told—with depth and sensitivity. And I liked the implicit message to never underestimate old guys! 😆