Yes, the title says it all: I liked also this movie directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, the second movie I saw by him. It's about coming of age and partially also some kind of road movie.
The plot is divided in consecutive days, starting on a Sunday. A bunch of youths is standing on a platform and jump into the water as test of courage. Remain Andrei and his younger brother Ivan. Who won't jump is a coward and a sissie. Andrei jumps and leaves Ivan, who at last is fetched by his mother. Ivan refuses to climb down, as he doesn't want to be labelled coward.
Next day, the gang mocks Ivan, even his brother - although under press - joins the mockery. They fight - and Ivan runs away. Whenever he is under extreme pressure, he runs away. At home, their mother announces that their father has returned. They think that he works as a pilot on a busy schedule and therefore never visits them. They look at him and then they compare the view with an old photo they keep in a Bible stored in the attic. Yes, it seems to be their father indeed.
Andrei, the conformist, needs a father figure. Ivan immediately reacts in a negative way, distancing himself from the father. The father treats the boys as almost grow ups, e.g. he allows them to drink some wine for supper. He takes the boys on a trip, as he has to order "something" within the next three days. The father treats them harshly. Seemingly they have to pass some rites of passage during the trip. At last they arrive at an uninhabited island. There is a watch tower, which Ivan doesn't climb because of his vertigo. There is also a house where the father digs a hole and finds a box. Then he announces that they will return, however the boys want to catch some fish before leaving. The father gives Andrei his watch and tells them to be back within a hour.
They come late and Andrei is beaten by his father. Ivan's hatred now breaks out completely and he threatens to kill his father. As his under pressure again, he runs away and climbs up that watch tower, threatening to jump down. The father wants to get him, but a rotten plank breaks and the father dies after the fall from the tower.
Andrei takes the command and they row the body back to the shore. (Ivan accepts his authority without rebellion.) While the boys are recovering for a moment, the boat with the dead body of the father drifts back into the sea and drowns. Ivan runs after the boat and shouts 'Papa, Papa'. Ivan would have needed a father - however their communication was an absolute failure
The story is relatively simple, but everything seems to be enriched with meaning which give way for existentialist, psychological and theological readings of the plot.
The absence of any male authority is striking. The Bible - the word of the heavenly father and the memory of the earthly father are not present in everyday life.
The gang at the beginning forms a hierarchy with a Darwinist peck order, like the boys in The Lord of the Flies do.
When the father returns, he tries to enforce respect, not considering that respect has to be earned. The father is so much old school, that his communication with his sons ends in complete disaster. Yes, he tries to transfer responsibility to his eldest son, but he doesn't realize that the circumstances have changed during his absence. There is still room for a father figure, but not one that is issuing random orders, as the boys have manages to live their lives without male authority until now.
The two boys - Vladimir Garin (as Andrei) and Ivan Dobronravov (as Ivan) give a supreme performance. The range of feelings these kids can express is admirable. (Yes, of course also Nadezhda Markina in Elena was OUTSTANDING.)
While the usage of symbols and the illustration of communication failure here seem to be perfectly fitting and brilliantly applied, the same didn't work for me in The Banishment. What is well-balanced in The Return, seems to be is overcharged in The Banishment. Thus the same recipe is not good for two different movies. Maybe I want to write about The Banishment later.
The plot is divided in consecutive days, starting on a Sunday. A bunch of youths is standing on a platform and jump into the water as test of courage. Remain Andrei and his younger brother Ivan. Who won't jump is a coward and a sissie. Andrei jumps and leaves Ivan, who at last is fetched by his mother. Ivan refuses to climb down, as he doesn't want to be labelled coward.
Next day, the gang mocks Ivan, even his brother - although under press - joins the mockery. They fight - and Ivan runs away. Whenever he is under extreme pressure, he runs away. At home, their mother announces that their father has returned. They think that he works as a pilot on a busy schedule and therefore never visits them. They look at him and then they compare the view with an old photo they keep in a Bible stored in the attic. Yes, it seems to be their father indeed.
Andrei, the conformist, needs a father figure. Ivan immediately reacts in a negative way, distancing himself from the father. The father treats the boys as almost grow ups, e.g. he allows them to drink some wine for supper. He takes the boys on a trip, as he has to order "something" within the next three days. The father treats them harshly. Seemingly they have to pass some rites of passage during the trip. At last they arrive at an uninhabited island. There is a watch tower, which Ivan doesn't climb because of his vertigo. There is also a house where the father digs a hole and finds a box. Then he announces that they will return, however the boys want to catch some fish before leaving. The father gives Andrei his watch and tells them to be back within a hour.
They come late and Andrei is beaten by his father. Ivan's hatred now breaks out completely and he threatens to kill his father. As his under pressure again, he runs away and climbs up that watch tower, threatening to jump down. The father wants to get him, but a rotten plank breaks and the father dies after the fall from the tower.
Andrei takes the command and they row the body back to the shore. (Ivan accepts his authority without rebellion.) While the boys are recovering for a moment, the boat with the dead body of the father drifts back into the sea and drowns. Ivan runs after the boat and shouts 'Papa, Papa'. Ivan would have needed a father - however their communication was an absolute failure
The story is relatively simple, but everything seems to be enriched with meaning which give way for existentialist, psychological and theological readings of the plot.
The absence of any male authority is striking. The Bible - the word of the heavenly father and the memory of the earthly father are not present in everyday life.
The gang at the beginning forms a hierarchy with a Darwinist peck order, like the boys in The Lord of the Flies do.
When the father returns, he tries to enforce respect, not considering that respect has to be earned. The father is so much old school, that his communication with his sons ends in complete disaster. Yes, he tries to transfer responsibility to his eldest son, but he doesn't realize that the circumstances have changed during his absence. There is still room for a father figure, but not one that is issuing random orders, as the boys have manages to live their lives without male authority until now.
The two boys - Vladimir Garin (as Andrei) and Ivan Dobronravov (as Ivan) give a supreme performance. The range of feelings these kids can express is admirable. (Yes, of course also Nadezhda Markina in Elena was OUTSTANDING.)
While the usage of symbols and the illustration of communication failure here seem to be perfectly fitting and brilliantly applied, the same didn't work for me in The Banishment. What is well-balanced in The Return, seems to be is overcharged in The Banishment. Thus the same recipe is not good for two different movies. Maybe I want to write about The Banishment later.
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