The Return


Synopsis
Two Russian brothers come home one day to find their father sleeping in their mother’s bed – the father who’d been gone for twelve years. When the father takes the boys on a fishing trip, what should be a heartwarming family reunion takes an ominous turn.

Observations
Everything in this movie has a gray cast to it. The Russian landscape deserves an acting credit – the rain, the water, the mountains all added to the menacing atmosphere created by the return of the father. I reveled in the slow and seductive pace of this film – enough to keep me intrigued, confused and questioning everything I thought I understood.

The children in this film are amazing – these young actors put The Sixth Senses’ Haley Joel Osment to shame. I wonder if it isn’t something about Russia, the poverty; the climate -- something that fosters great art. The children are young and old at the same time. The dialogue they are given is stellar. This is the directing debut of Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Oscar contender for best foreign film from him in the next few years. The performance he was able to draw from the children is amazing.

Like a great existential novel by Camus or Kafka, everything in this film almost fits together, but not quite. There is much controversy online as to the meaning of some of the more symbolic and perplexing parts of the movie. Where was the father? What is his motivation for returning? What’s in the box? While these questions begin an important dialogue, it would be a disservice to the film to not appreciate it for what it is – a beautifully filmed and acted directorial triumph. Очень хорошо, Андрей Петрович! (Very good, Andrei Zvyagintsev)

As a side note, the older of the two brothers in the film, Andrey (Vladimir Garin) drowned shortly after the film was released. What a loss.

Rating:
Amazon's entry for The Return