“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form. Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor? Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth? Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; each is so close to the next that no air can pass between."The monster Leviathan is a powerful symbol for the totalitarian state.Greediness, longing for power, ruthlessness, corruption. And a legal system that stages the scenarios of power-mad politicians. We have seen these mock-trials many times before, recently against director Oleg Semtsov who is put into jail on fabricated evidence. Who can strip off the outer coat of Leviathan?
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| Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité -- values under attack |
Nikolaj (Aleksej Serebryakov) tries to battle against Leviathan in the form of the obnoxious mayor (played brilliantly by Roman Madyanov). The municipality has expropriated Nikolaj's property. A comrade from army days, a lawyer visits him He still seems to believe in the legal system, but is also quickly confronted with the reality in the countryside.
Nikolaj has a younger wife and a son in puberty. For a time they consider moving to Moscow, but this is no alternative for Nikolaj . As another Michael Kohlhaas he fights for justice.The end: as in real life. Justice as the handmaiden of politics...
The film starts with a sumptuous shot of the sea and the stranded skeleton of a whale - a powerful picture of Leviathan. Then we pan to the world of the humans - houses falling apart, young people hanging out in ruins, human ruins, fueled by vodka, human ruins everywhere.
On top of this human residuum is the political elite that rules with the blessing of the Church, preaching the values of truth and secretly encourages politicians to lie.
Bleakness, misery, not oine glimpse of hope anywhere. While Elena still had a potential seed of hope, here is nothing -- all is lost.
10/10
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