The Return | 2024 | R | – 7.7.5

Why is “The Return” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, some sexual content, graphic nudity and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes full male nudity in a non-sexual context, several sex scenes with partial nudity, an implied rape, many people being killed by arrows as well as sword slashes and stabbings with blood pooling and splattering, many discussions of war and death, discussions of longing for home, several arguments and at least 3 F-words. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Based on the last chapters of Homer’s “The Odyssey”: Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) manages to return to Ithaca after 10 years of fighting in Troy and 10 years of wandering the Mediterranean, alone and unrecognizable, to find his island besieged by suitors vying to marry his wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) and take over his now decrepit kingdom. Also with Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Tom Rhys Harries, Amir Wilson, Ángela Molina, Jaz Hutchins and Moe Bar-El. Directed by Uberto Pasolini. [Running Time: 1:56]

The Return SEX/NUDITY 7

 – Two men threaten a young man and say they are looking for a young woman; it is later implied that the men raped the young man (we see the two men nude with bare chests, abdomens, buttocks and legs visible).
► A woman walks through a hallway and we see rooms where people are having sex and sleeping; one topless woman thrusts on a man (we see her bare breasts and abdomen), and another couple are seen sleeping (the man is shirtless and we see his bare chest and abdomen and the woman’s partial bare breasts are visible). A woman walks through a hallway and we hear moaning and suggestive breathing and see a blurry flesh-tone image of a woman’s torso thrusting on a man (clear details are not evident).
► A woman pleads with a man to help her find her son, touches his clothed chest gently, and goes into her room while leaving the door open as an invitation (the man leaves and nothing transpires). A young man tells his mother that her husband has been with another woman for many years. Many people discuss a woman having to choose a man to marry in order to take the place of her missing husband and become king of Ithaca. A man tells a woman, “You will love me.”
► A fully nude man is shown exiting a building (we see his bare chest, abdomen, genitals and legs). A fully nude man lies motionless on a shore as waves crash around him (we see his bare back, buttocks and legs and later his chest and abdomen). Men are shown shirtless and wearing wrapped garments around their waists in most scenes (we see bare chests, abdomens, back and legs to the upper thighs and hips). A wife bathes her husband washing away blood from his face and body (we see his bare chest and abdomen).

The Return VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – Many men cheer for two men to fight: they punch and kick each other, one man is kicked repeatedly while on the ground, and pulls the other man’s feet, making him fall and hit his head on a stone step (he dies and we see a pool of blood form under his head). Several men hold a man underwater demanding to know where a young man is; one man kicks the man and kills him (we see blood spread in the water as his body floats motionless). A man fights with two men, slashing one across the abdomen and then the throat and stabbing the other in the abdomen (blood pools on the ground). A man shoots arrows into several men as they try to hide behind tables and leave a room (we see blood on the wounds as they fall), other men charge the bowman when he runs out of arrows and the man slashes and stabs them; one man is slashed and then stabbed in the throat (we hear him gurgling as he dies), and a young man raises a dagger over a man’s bowed head and slashes below the frame killing him. Many men with dogs search for a young man and one man slashes another man’s throat leaving him to die (we see blood).
► A drowning man is pulled out of the water into a boat and then thrown back in to drown (we see him sink and not resurface). A badly injured man pulls himself along the ground and a dog charges him biting his arm before being called away by another man (we see bloody bite marks on his arm). A young man calls his mother a disparaging name and another woman slaps him in the face. Two men shove a woman to the ground trying to find information and one man shakes an elderly man by the shoulders not realizing that he is dead and his body falls to the floor motionless. A man pushes a young man and punches him in the face, knocking him unconscious, to keep him quiet (we see his bloody nose later). Men tell another man to leave an area and one throws a goblet of wine in his face as he asks for coins; other men pelt him with food. A man tackles a young woman and makes her swear not to tell anyone who he is. Several people run through forests, streams and up rock walls to evade many men with dogs.
► Two men threaten a young man and say they are looking for a young woman; it is later implied that the men raped the young man. A man points a spear at another man and raises it to throw at him (he does not throw it). A woman tears strands of yarn from a loom and cries. A man grieves over having led so many men to their deaths during war. A woman tells many men that whoever is able to string a bow and shoot an arrow through a dozen axe handles will be her choice to replace her husband; several men attempt to thread the bow, but are unable.
► A man threatens to cut a young man’s throat. Many men surround a woman at a funeral and accuse her of lying to them, telling her that she needs to choose one of the men to marry. Several men mock and tease a young man in several scenes. A young man argues with his mother and yells at her telling her to choose a man to become king. A young man says that he needs to know if his father is dead. An elderly man appears to be suffering from memory decline. A man talks about Troy burning and butchering people in the streets; he describes a wooden horse “vomiting soldiers,” and that the city burned to the ground and the flames were drowned with blood. A man says, “Killing the son won’t win you the mother.” A man tells another man, “I’m always looking for slaves.” A woman asks a man if her husband raped and murdered. A man says, “The dead are the lucky ones.” A man tells a woman, “If you choose someone else, I will kill him.”
► A man approaches a very old dog that raises its head, whimpers and dies as the man grieves over the animal. A fully nude man lies motionless on a shore as waves crash around him (we see bruises and abrasions on his body and a gash on his head). A man lies on the ground and puts a handful of soil in his mouth. A young man stands on a cliff as waves crash below. We hear about 10 years of carnage and the fall of Troy to the Achaeans. We hear that many suitors have laid waste to a kingdom draining its resources and leaving the people starving. We hear that a man died and see people carrying his body wrapped in cloth to a burial site. An elderly man is described as being “mad with grief.”
► A man carries a piglet over his shoulders as the animal squeals. A man gives a wounded man something to drink and he spits it out (we see goo). A dog eats something from the ground that looks like intestine. A wife bathes her husband washing away blood from his face and body (we see his bare chest and abdomen).

The Return LANGUAGE 5

 – About 3 F-words, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (poor boy, savage, greedy, pig man, little runt, coward, whore, scoundrels, tramp, beggar, pigs, deceitful, treachery, reckless, circus tricks, slaughterhouse, fool, thugs), exclamations (shame on you, get back to your place). | profanity glossary |

The Return SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink wine in many scenes.

The Return DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – War, hope, shame, glory, respect, home, family, fear, forgiveness, peace.

The Return MESSAGE

 – Once a warrior, a warrior cannot escape violence, even when suffering from PTSD and while burdened by many regrets.