Andrei Zvyagintsev, often referred to as the Russian Ingmar Bergman, belongs to the new breed of filmmakers thanks to which Russian film has reached a truly global audience.
The Siberian-born director wanted to fulfill his ambition to become a film director since childhood. Inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson and Michelangelo Antonioni, Zvyagintsev managed to create his own cinematic language. A trained actor, he has never been interested in entertaining people with popcorn movies, rather he is looking for “partners in crime” to share his fears and weaknesses with. His films are almost universal in their existentialist appeal, tackling Dostoevsky’s themes of injustice, suffering and betrayal with a modern twist. Zvyagintsev’s films always have an ambiguity of significance, with layers and layers of connotations to scale off.
5. “The Banishment” (2007)
In ‘The Banishment’, Zvyagintsev shines light on the darkest and most remote corners of the human mind. The Russian director studies the nuances, subtleties and complexity of the human soul through family relationships.
Maria Bonnevie as Vera in ‘The Banishment’.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Ren-TV, 2007
Alex, Vera and their two children spend the summer in the godforsaken place that looks like an ordinary suburb. Vera is unhappy with Alex, and the day she finds out she’s pregnant, it causes a storm of conflicting emotions in her. Alex interprets his beautiful wife’s confusion and anxiety as proof of her infidelity. Jealousy will prove to be only the first challenge in a series of trials that the man will have to face.
The film takes place anywhere in general and nowhere in particular, in an unnamed picturesque country crystallized from Belgium, France and Moldova (the filming actually took place in all three countries).
Konstantin Lavronenko as Alex in “The Banishment”.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Ren-TV, 2007
The drama stars Swedish actress Maria Bonnevie and one of Zvyagintsev’s favorite actors, Konstantin Lavronenko, who was named “Best Actor” by the Cannes jury in 2007.
Many critics described the film as confusing, while others lamented that it raises metaphysical questions without giving straight answers. Apparently, ‘The Banishment’ is not so much about questions and answers, but rather about deep loneliness and despair in some of its most tragic forms.
4. “The Leviathan” (2014)
It has striking scenery, fantastic dialogues, beautiful music (the well-known American composer Philip Glass wrote the score) and a bitter aftertaste. “The Leviathan” takes place in a provincial Russian coastal town (filming took place in the remote northern settlement of Teriberka, on the Barents Sea).
Aleksei Serebryakov and Elena Lyadova in “The Leviathan”.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Non-Stop Production, 2014
One of its unfortunate residents, Nikolai, (portrayed by Aleksei Serebryakov) confronts a grotesquely corrupt mayor after learning that his house will be demolished to make way for a church. The main character fights a lost battle against the mayor, with his whole life in ruins. An attempt to resist lawlessness and disorder makes Nikolai a “hero of our time”.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Non-Stop Production, 2014
According to Zvyagintsev, resistance to evil is painful, dangerous, doomed, but inevitable. And this is, among other things, the Christian idea behind the social drama. Zvyagintsev’s fourth film won the Golden Globe for best foreign film, the first time Russia won it in almost five decades! The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it also won the coveted “Best Screenplay” award in 2014.
3. ‘The Return’ (2003)
Andrei Zvyagintsev took immediate stardom after taking home Venice’s Golden Lion in 2003 for “The Return”, his debut film.
Konstantin Lavronenko in ‘The Return’.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Ren Film, 2003
Teenagers Ivan and Andrei have lived peacefully without their father for twelve long years, until one day their mother asks them to calm down, as their father is suddenly home and asleep. To make up for lost time, the authoritarian man takes the two brothers on a fishing trip to the distant lakes. This epic journey will change the lives of everyone, with the inner conflict escalating to the point of no return.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Ren Film, 2003
Zvyagintsev’s narrative style is straightforward, powerful and simple and yet it hits you like a bullet. The story could have happened pretty much anywhere, anytime, for anyone. ‘The Return’ is a powerful parable about fathers and sons and the victims of fate, who return as a boomerang. The overwhelming mood of suspense is portrayed by the director and his outstanding film photographer Mikhail Krichman with such a gripping feeling that one almost forgets to breathe between thoughts. An attentive viewer will definitely notice that on the day of their father’s arrival, the boys examine an illustration of the Bible: “Abraham sacrifices [his son] Isaac. “In fact, Zvyagintsev’s film takes place during the” biblical “seven days of creation – from Sunday to Saturday. Ivan and his brother first see their father sleep when he returns home after 12 years of absence – and in this scene, as well as in the final scene of the film, he looks exactly like the dead Christ from the famous painting from 1480 by the Italian master Andrea Mantegna. ‘The Return’ is full of mythological parallels and biblical connotations, but you can do fine without them, simply enjoy the film as a fantastic psychological thriller.
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2. “Elena” (2011)
While Zvyagintsev’s first two films were loosely tied to reality, his third film, “Elena”, exemplified the director’s realistic style and his unwavering observations of the complexity of the human character.
Nadezhda Markina and Andrei Smirnov in “Elena”.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / AR Films, 2011
It is a story about the dramatic relationship between an average working class woman with her elderly rich husband and a marginalized adult son from her first marriage. Elena, in her late 50s, finds herself between Scylla and Charybdis, though somewhere between paradise in her husband’s apartment in central Moscow and the hell in the poor suburb of her son’s family, whose inhabitants shamelessly suck money from their rich relatives. To make everyone’s lives “easier”, Elena (brilliantly portrayed by Nadezhda Markina) will have to make a fateful moral choice.
Nadezhda Markina and “Elena”.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / AR Films, 2011
Zvyagintsev’s tour de force premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was honored with a “Special Jury Prize” in 2011. In 2019, the family drama became the only Russian film to make the list of the 50 best films of the 2010s, compiled by Rolling Stone magazine.
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1. “Loveless” (2017)
In “Loveless”, Zvyagintsev puts under scrutiny a couple in Moscow who are involved in a difficult divorce. While still officially married, they are now complete strangers to each other. Both begin to see someone next door: Boris lives with her new, pregnant girlfriend, while Zhenya enjoys sex with her new rich lover.
Maryana Spivak in “Loveless.”
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Non-Stop Production, 2017
Not even bothering to figure out how the divorce will affect their 12-year-old son Alyosha, the selfish parents continue to live their lives to the fullest and show criminal indifference to their son’s suffering. Their reluctance to face reality will strike back when the boy, who no one even cares about, suddenly disappears. It will be too late to restore what has been lost. “Loveless” will make you feel helpless and hopeless. But it is that powerful feeling of need that can also serve as a rude awakening for many.
Matvei Novikov as Alyosha in “Loveless”.
Andrei Zvyagintsev / Non-Stop Production, 2017
Andrei Zvyagintsev was awarded the jury prize at the 70th Cannes Film Festival for his magnum opus. “Loveless” also won France’s highest film award, the Cesar Award, as best foreign film. The 127-minute drama was also nominated for an Oscar in the Foreign Language Film category.
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Source: sn.dk