The Return
|
List Price: Our Price: $15.94 You Save: $14.01 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.10 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Return
Movie Review: from the heart to the soul...?
Summary: 5 Stars
...from the heart of (first-time!) director Andrey Zvyagintsev to the soul of the viewer, that is. This film is nothing short of amazing. The story is moving, believable and deep on both psychological and emotional levels -- the cinematography, writing and pacing are right on target -- and the acting is as close to perfect as either a director OR audience can imagine.
Konstantin Lavronenko plays the long-lost father with just the right mix of strength, mystery and cool understatement -- his character would give many actors an excuse to overplay and draw attention away from the young men portraying the sons, the true centers of the film. The balance he achieves here is a tribute to the care with which he pursues his craft.
The two young actors who play brothers Andrey and Ivan (Vladimir Garin and Ivan Dobronravov, respectively) turn in some of the most believable, moving performances I've ever seen from people their age. The depths of emotion and commitment they give to their roles is extraordinary -- it's a level of quality that is a joy to see in actors of ANY age, but to see it in these who are so young is incredible.
The fact that this is director Zvyagintsev's first feature film tells me that this is indeed a filmmaker to watch -- and I don't think a film of this quality can be written off as 'beginner's luck'. His talent is formidable -- I look forward to seeing more from him.
The story unfolds at just the right pace -- the audience is given no clues as to what will happen next, and is kept is just as much suspense as the characters in the film. The honors this film received at the Venice Film Festival were justified -- I can recommend it without reservation to anyone, whether they favor 'art house' cinema or simply a well-made film telling a compelling story.
Additionally -- it's nice to see Kino expanding the scope of their 'special features' on this DVD. They've released a good number of quality films, but the 'extras' on the ones I've seen have been a little thin. This one has a really nice documentary (63 min) included, a 'film about the film', a well-made and informative look behind the scenes.
Movie Review: kholuj i stavlennik imperializma
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a film of Realism, but one of symbolic significance that perhaps only an acute observer of Russian culture would understand (Russian or non)--not to say that you could not watch the film and think that it is about abandonment, societal coldness, or irrational revenge, which it is on the surface. But if you go on here writing a bad review because perhaps you rented it for $3 on Netflix and it ruined your evening then I would suggest that you stick with The Stroll ( Progulka ) or something equally engaging that gives you a taste for modern Russia. Brave directors take chances, and that is why they are the best, but sometimes at the expense of a mainstream audience. Most people on this side of the world are much too spoiled and naive to be able to grasp the horrors of having your world and everything you believe in turned upside down again and again and again until you have nothing to hold but the earth itself. No one blames you for that, and I really have no idea why you would buy this movie anyway, unless you simply love the beautiful cinematography. Sometimes movies do fail to make a point, but this is not one of them in my view.
Basically, if you buy this film without watching it first then you are asking for trouble. Trust no one and make up your own mind by renting it first. Do not form presumptions because you like foreign movies or because you are a Tarkovsky fan. I would say that Tarkovsky is an influence on Zvyagintsev, but Zvyagintsev has his own ideas of what a film should do. Modern Russia, free Russia, is full of surprises. This is not a digital camera, you know. You have the unique opportunity to try it first before you buy.
Amazon reviews are at you disposal. Make your decision. Rent it and then buy it...or do not.
Why discourage others who have not had the chance to view it themselves? Do not give into Big brother. We are a democracy and we are strong. Think and evolve.
Movie Review: Where ya been? What ya doing? Where ya going?
Summary: 5 Stars
This Russian film is a departure from the norm thriller/psychological drama, in that it offers so little information, you draw your own conclusions... seriously; you, the viewer write the storyline. The film offers little dialogue and clearly, no explanations. Like any other film, you keep waiting for something that throws a clue your way. Waiting and waiting...nothing. The suspense continues.
Two brothers have grown up with a mother and grandmother, and without a father, who one day returns after a 12 year disappearance, nothing said, nothing to give us a clue of his whereabouts. One morning, the kids find him in bed; he comes to the breakfast table without even as much as a hello to the boys. It's mysterious. That scene is predictory of his character throughout the film.
Next thing we know, he is taking them on a fishing trip to the wilderness, specifically to an island. The father is rough, mentally and physically; and why this journey we don't know. One thing, he demands that the boys call him father, but the younger one, Ivan refuses. Ivan has more hostility and resentment against the man, while the other boy, 15 year old Andre, obliges and tries to bond.
Compliant, 15-year old wants to believe in a father, but the younger Ivan is skeptical, fearful, and said he could love him, if he saw a good side of the man. He hated the father. The acting is brilliant; we see the cold, untouchable father, unwilling to bend. Child actor Ivan was amazing for his age. So much emotion exudes from his little face and so much for a young boy to endure.
I doubt that I have seen a movie like this, tormenting, mysterious, and thrilling that provides such little detail. The best one can do is pick up some clues from his behavior. You need to think, analyze, speculate, and it becomes a story of your mind. .... Rizzo
Movie Review: Fathers and sons . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine Bergman with a touch of Hitchcock or Chabrol. In this award-winning film about a father and two young sons on a fishing trip after twelve years of separation, there is the bleakness and moral ambiguity of Bergman's world, where people live isolated lives, often on remote islands. Meanwhile, there's the creepy uncertainty that permeates the works of the masters of suspense. In its stark focus on three characters traveling alone together, it's also reminiscent of Polanski's early film, "Knife in the Water."
Visually the film is striking with its slow but persistent camera movement and the washed out color that reduces some scenes to monochrome. Meanwhile, the soundtrack music is spare and eerie. Most striking of all are the performances, as the taciturn and vaguely malevolent father interacts in unexpected ways with the two boys, who regard him with varying degrees of trust and distrust.
At some level, it's a film about fathers and sons and the distance between them as the immaturity, emotions, fears and physical weakness of boys are confronted by the uncompromising expectations of hardened adult males, who have shed any vestige of their own boyhoods as something to be scorned. And we keep watching the man for signs of his true character as he responds to the two boys, one of them willing to accept the man at his word, the other deeply suspicious and openly rebellious.
Based on a simple premise, it's a brilliantly conceived story that holds the viewer to the end, leaving us finally with unanswered questions that provoke reflection on the loss of innocence and the uneasy relationship between family and self. The DVD includes a one-hour making-of documentary that reveals many of the challenges of directing and shooting the film. Not least interesting is its commentary on working with the film's young actors.
Movie Review: The dilemma between father and sons
Summary: 5 Stars
After a 12-year absence, the father of two young boys unexpectedly returns home. The very next day, he takes them both on a fishing trip, which doesn't really turn out to be an actual fishing trip. These two boys are constantly ignored, insulted, and ordered around by their father in what seems to be a deadly test of will and manhood.
What makes this foreign film so special is that it's a truly original experience. There's no sappy Hollywood music, no melodramatic fluff, and (best of all) no ADD-induced cinematography. The direction of this film is ponderous and straightforward, which really heightens the suspense. The neverending mysteries surrounding the father makes the film: we never know why he acts the way it is, and that's why we don't fully trust the character. Why is he uncomfortable with fish? Why does he scorn his own sons? These questions become more natural as, near the end, we desperately want to know why he's become a (silent) drill sergeant rather than a real parent.
Director Zvyagintsev has given us a fine psychological thriller. The look and feel of "The Return" is something that we don't usually see in today's American thrillers. The actors, especially the kids, have done a splendid job. They actually turn out to look and act believable in their roles. Tragically, though, Vladimir Garin (who plays Andrey) died shortly before the premiere of this film. It's a big loss in Russian cinema because he could have accomplished many other things in the future. So rest in peace, Vladimir. We will cherish not only your first and last performance, but the entire film as well.