Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Return by Andrei Zvyagintsev


The Return, the debut movie by Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev, is a haunting parable of manhood, parental authority, innocence and rebellion and the nostalgia of Eden.

This is a movie of archetypes, where a sudden disruption of a community by a force which demands respect but is violently insensitive to the inner dynamics of that community is met with hate, longing and suspicion.

Suffused with the bleak imagery of the fatherland, the harsh and brutal love of a father for his sons is brought into sharp contrast with the sons' doubt, their bond with their mother, and the revolt of a childhood neglected.

The landscape is barren, forlorn and inhuman, and that is the inner landscape of the father's heart.

What a brilliant debut!

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