Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche Had a 'Joyful' Reunion on New Film 28 Years After “The English Patient”
The actors' third big-screen collaboration is 'The Return,' an adaptation of Homer's 'Odyssey'
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Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes on Oct. 22, 2016Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are making a grand return.
Almost 30 years after the release of their film The English Patient, 1997’s Best Picture Oscar winner, the costars' new movie The Return had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 7.
The Return is directed by Uberto Pasolini and based on Homer's Odyssey. It follows Fiennes, 61, as Odysseus returning from the Trojan War to his home island of Ithaca, only to find his wife Penelope (Binoche, 60) and their son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer) held captive.
"When Odysseus finally enters the fray, Penelope puts forth an iconic and instantly recognizable test for her weakened king to prove himself true among a viper’s nest of men lusting for power," reads a synopsis from TIFF.
Fiennes and Binoche spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about their reunion and third big-screen collaboration ahead of TIFF, with the French actress saying, "We remained friends, throughout all those years, since The English Patient."
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Courtesy of TIFF
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She went on to say that "it was just joyful to be able to reconnect onscreen" with Fiennes again, before comparing their roles to those they played in their previous collaboration.
"Ralph is not lying down this time, but I think Penelope is a kind of nurse, for being so patient of this ‘new patient’ who comes back to Ithaca," explained Binoche, who also won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The English Patient.
Fiennes told THR that "it was, as you Americans say, a no-brainer" to star alongside Binoche in The Return, as he feels pointed in the right direction by her as a movie actor.
"Juliette is like a compass for me: She has such an extraordinary, intuitive depth and understanding about what it is to act on film," explained the Harry Potter alum.
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Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche in "The English Patient" (1996)The English Patient, a romantic drama set during WWII, was up for 12 Academy Awards in 1997 and won nine. Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas were nominated for their leading performances.
Aside from Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress, the movie also nabbed a win in the category of Best Director for the late Anthony Minghella, plus Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound.
Before his breakout film roles in The English Patient and Schindler's List (1993), Fiennes costarred with Binoche in the book-to-screen adaptation Emily Bront?'s Wuthering Heights. In his feature-film debut, Fiennes played Heathcliff to Binoche’s Catherine.
Of The Return, Pasolini, 67, told Variety in 2022, “I feel enormously fortunate to be able to bring Homer’s world alive through the great talent of Juliette and Ralph, whose powerful screen presence is matched by the fearlessness they bring to their work."
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