The Return
2003
Director Andrei Zvyagintsev makes a phenomenally assured directorial debut with THE RETURN. The spare tale focuses on two young brothers, Andrey (Vladimir Garin) and Vanya (Ivan Dobronravov), whose lives are thrown into a tailspin when their father (Konstantin Lavroneko) returns after a 12-year absence. Bullish and intense, the .. Read more
| Starring | Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Natalya Vdovina, Konstantin Lavronenko |
|---|---|
| Director | Andrey Zvyagintsev |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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The Return
Director Andrei Zvyagintsev makes a phenomenally assured directorial debut with THE RETURN. The spare tale focuses on two young brothers, Andrey (Vladimir Garin) and Vanya (Ivan Dobronravov), whose lives are thrown into a tailspin when their father (Konstantin Lavroneko) returns after a 12-year absence. Bullish and intense, the patriarch takes the boys on a mysterious journey through a bleak yet beautiful Russian landscape. While Andrey looks up to his father, Vanya has trouble forgiving him for disappearing so many years ago. This strain adds even more drama to the already tense atmosphere, culminating in a shocking event that will change their lives forever.
Winner of the Golden Lion at the 2003 Venice Film Festival, THE RETURN is a masterful drama that works on an allegorical, as well as literal, level. Zvyaginstev's imagery is at once painterly, abstract, and realistic. Newcomers Garin and Dobronravov deliver performances that are deeply affecting. In a cruel twist of irony, actor Garin drowned just after shooting in the same water where the opening scene took place, which adds another level of bleakness to the film's somber tone. THE RETURN is a truly haunting work of art.
| Starring | Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Natalya Vdovina, Konstantin Lavronenko |
|---|---|
| Director | Andrey Zvyagintsev |
| Studio | UGC FILMS |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 50 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Russian |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: not available Production year: 2003 |
| Format | DVD |
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Most helpful member's review
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27 out of 27 people found this review helpful
The Return keeps coming back
This is one film you will not forget easily. A moving, complex story about a father who returns home out of the blue after 12 years away. No one knows where he has been or why he has come back.
His eldest son Andrei is secretly delighted to see him, but the younger child Ivan is suspicious. Their mother suggests a bonding trip and the three set off on the road; the father to complete "business" which is never fully explained; the boys to go fishing. But the father fails to slot back into his son's lives easily. He displays an undercurrent of violence, which when mixed with Ivan's open contempt for him, creates a tension and a dread which lasts until the last frame.
The film is made all the more poignant by the fact that one of the child actors (Andrei) drowned after making the film. It's beautifully shot and the dialogue is spare. The DVD extras are a little pedestrian, but still worth a look. -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Amazing
The Return, is an epic film, made on a seriously low budget, that really does take your breathe away.
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News and features
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Cannes Preview 2007
- 14 May 2007
The biggest and the best film festival in the world, Cannes manages the impossible: year after year it straddles the length and breadth of the cinematic universe, making foreign art films look sexy and Hollywood product intellectually adventurous. It does this by slamming them up against each other (about 1,000 films in 11 days, if you count what's showing in the market), limiting the audience to about 25,000 industry professionals and 4,000 or so critics and journalists, and arranging that... Read more
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