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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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 | Production year: 2003 To Rent: DVD: not available |
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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 ... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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I went and bought it
I needed to go, I really needed to go...
This film would not let me leave as such I was late (ach well). Its not like a keeping gripped type of film... read more »
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A Masterpiece
This is one of the finest examples of cinema mastery I have seen. It was shown on Film 4 a few weeks back and I have watched it over and over again.
... read more »
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The Return (2003)
Brilliant slow-burning drama, with an impressive control of both suspense and atmosphere. It leaves a multitude of questions unanswered surrounding the return ... read more »
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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