Moscow -- Veteran director Svetlana Proskurina collected the Grand Prix at Kinotavr, Russia's main national film festival, whose 21st edition came to a close in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Sunday, for her existential drama "Peremiriye" (Truce).
At several previous festivals, the main prizes often went to first-time directors, and the dominance of debuts in this year's official selection made observers think that the trend would continue, but the only feature debut to be awarded a major prize was Sergei Loznitsa's "Schastye Moye" (My Joy).
The movie, which was premiered at Cannes last month, brought Loznitsa Kinotavr's best director's award. The best screenplay prize was awarded to Andrei Stempkovsky, the writer/director of "Obratnoye Dvizheniye" "Backwards Movement).
The best cinematography prize went to Roman Vasyanov for his work on "Yavleniye Prirody" (Nature Phenomemon) by Alexander Lungin and Sergei Osepyan. Anna Fenchenko collected the best debut award for...
At several previous festivals, the main prizes often went to first-time directors, and the dominance of debuts in this year's official selection made observers think that the trend would continue, but the only feature debut to be awarded a major prize was Sergei Loznitsa's "Schastye Moye" (My Joy).
The movie, which was premiered at Cannes last month, brought Loznitsa Kinotavr's best director's award. The best screenplay prize was awarded to Andrei Stempkovsky, the writer/director of "Obratnoye Dvizheniye" "Backwards Movement).
The best cinematography prize went to Roman Vasyanov for his work on "Yavleniye Prirody" (Nature Phenomemon) by Alexander Lungin and Sergei Osepyan. Anna Fenchenko collected the best debut award for...
- 6/14/2010
- by By Vladimir Kozlov
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Andrey Zvyagintsev's wonderful debut feature opens with a simple childhood test. A group of boys stand atop a look-out tower on stone pier against a drab Russian sky. Each one jumps, terrified, into the icy water below. The two boys left are brothers Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov) and Andrei (Vladimir Garin) and when the older finally jumps, leaving Ivan on the tower in the shivering cold, it's only his mother who eventually comes to his rescue as the night draws in. It's simplistic scene beautifully shot and outlays the rest of the film effortlessly. The way the young brothers push each other in the early parts of the film makes way for the titular return of the boy's father after a 12 year absence and the planned fishing trip which will reconnect them. The spare setting and their mother's odd complacency about the mysterious reappearance set a tense and disturbing tone and...
- 4/7/2010
- by Neil Innes
- t5m.com
Andrey Zvyagintsev's wonderful debut feature opens with a simple childhood test. A group of boys stand atop a look-out tower on stone pier against a drab Russian sky. Each one jumps, terrified, into the icy water below. The two boys left are brothers Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov) and Andrei (Vladimir Garin) and when the older finally jumps, leaving Ivan on the tower in the shivering cold, it's only his mother who eventually comes to his rescue as the night draws in. It's simplistic scene beautifully shot and outlays the rest of the film effortlessly. The way the young brothers push each other in the early parts of the film makes way for the titular return of the boy's father after a 12 year absence and the planned fishing trip which will reconnect them. The spare setting and their mother's odd complacency about the mysterious reappearance set a tense and disturbing tone and...
- 4/7/2010
- by Neil Innes
- t5m.com
Opens
February
At once a powerful psychological thriller and a haunting allegory, "The Return" marks an auspicious feature debut for helmer Andrey Zvyagintsev. With its elegiac mood and pulse-quickening suspense, the pared-down narrative is an unforgettable depiction of primal longing for the father. The film is Russia's entry for the foreign-language Oscar, having nabbed the European Film Awards' Discovery of the Year nod and the Venice fest's Golden Lion. Boosted by strong reviews, it should reap art house returns for Kino International upon its Stateside release in February.
The pic's title refers to the sudden reappearance of a man (Konstantin Lavronenko) whose sons know him only from photographs. As much as his absence has created a dark ache in the household he left 12 years earlier, his return introduces a new, oppressive force -- a complicity of silence. Like his pretty, sad-eyed mother (Natalia Vdovina), teenage Andrey (Vladimir Garin) is content to accept the unexplained turn of events, but his younger brother, Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov), wants answers: Where has the man been, why is he back, and why is he taking the two of them on a fishing trip?
Answers are not forthcoming. As country roads unfold before them, the battle of wills between the increasingly surly Ivan and his enigmatic father intensifies, along with suspicion over the man's identity and a foreboding of violence. The boys accompany Father when mysterious business matters summon him to an island, and the percolating dread gives way to momentary expansiveness as they begin their crossing. But the uninhabited island proves no refuge from escalating hostilities.
The lean script by Vladimir Moiseenko and Alexander Novototsky doesn't oversimplify matters
Father is distant and often brutish but no monster. Possessed of an unexpected rectitude, he tries, in his misguided, sometimes cruel way, to impart lessons in self-reliance to his sons. It's the only language he has to bridge an unfathomable gulf. More than eager to help him is Andrey, a heartbreaking construction of conciliatory gestures
his face beams with love even when Father has treated him harshly. But Ivan, ashamed of his fears and his inferior status as second-born, cleaves tighter to his defiant anger.
The affecting performances never strike symbolic poses -- the story's archetypal power lies in its straightforward drama and assured visuals. From the opening shots of a bruised sky at dusk, DP Mikhail Kritchman's elegant compositions convey the mystery and mournfulness that course through the story like the ever-present element of water, whether in pounding rainstorms or the gently lapping tide. Andrey Dergatchev's music punctuates the proceedings with understated nerve-impulse precision.
THE RETURN
Kino International
Ren Film
Credits: Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Screenwriters: Vladimir Moiseenko, Alexander Novototsky
Producer: Dmitry Lesnevsky
Executive producer: Elena Kovaleva
Director of photography: Mikhail Kritchman
Art director: Janna Pakhomova
Music: Andrey Dergatchev
Costume designer: Anna Barthuly
Editor: Vladimir Mogilevsky
Cast:
Andrey: Vladimir Garin
Ivan: Ivan Dobronravov
Father: Konstantin Lavronenko
Mother: Natalia Vdovina
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
February
At once a powerful psychological thriller and a haunting allegory, "The Return" marks an auspicious feature debut for helmer Andrey Zvyagintsev. With its elegiac mood and pulse-quickening suspense, the pared-down narrative is an unforgettable depiction of primal longing for the father. The film is Russia's entry for the foreign-language Oscar, having nabbed the European Film Awards' Discovery of the Year nod and the Venice fest's Golden Lion. Boosted by strong reviews, it should reap art house returns for Kino International upon its Stateside release in February.
The pic's title refers to the sudden reappearance of a man (Konstantin Lavronenko) whose sons know him only from photographs. As much as his absence has created a dark ache in the household he left 12 years earlier, his return introduces a new, oppressive force -- a complicity of silence. Like his pretty, sad-eyed mother (Natalia Vdovina), teenage Andrey (Vladimir Garin) is content to accept the unexplained turn of events, but his younger brother, Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov), wants answers: Where has the man been, why is he back, and why is he taking the two of them on a fishing trip?
Answers are not forthcoming. As country roads unfold before them, the battle of wills between the increasingly surly Ivan and his enigmatic father intensifies, along with suspicion over the man's identity and a foreboding of violence. The boys accompany Father when mysterious business matters summon him to an island, and the percolating dread gives way to momentary expansiveness as they begin their crossing. But the uninhabited island proves no refuge from escalating hostilities.
The lean script by Vladimir Moiseenko and Alexander Novototsky doesn't oversimplify matters
Father is distant and often brutish but no monster. Possessed of an unexpected rectitude, he tries, in his misguided, sometimes cruel way, to impart lessons in self-reliance to his sons. It's the only language he has to bridge an unfathomable gulf. More than eager to help him is Andrey, a heartbreaking construction of conciliatory gestures
his face beams with love even when Father has treated him harshly. But Ivan, ashamed of his fears and his inferior status as second-born, cleaves tighter to his defiant anger.
The affecting performances never strike symbolic poses -- the story's archetypal power lies in its straightforward drama and assured visuals. From the opening shots of a bruised sky at dusk, DP Mikhail Kritchman's elegant compositions convey the mystery and mournfulness that course through the story like the ever-present element of water, whether in pounding rainstorms or the gently lapping tide. Andrey Dergatchev's music punctuates the proceedings with understated nerve-impulse precision.
THE RETURN
Kino International
Ren Film
Credits: Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Screenwriters: Vladimir Moiseenko, Alexander Novototsky
Producer: Dmitry Lesnevsky
Executive producer: Elena Kovaleva
Director of photography: Mikhail Kritchman
Art director: Janna Pakhomova
Music: Andrey Dergatchev
Costume designer: Anna Barthuly
Editor: Vladimir Mogilevsky
Cast:
Andrey: Vladimir Garin
Ivan: Ivan Dobronravov
Father: Konstantin Lavronenko
Mother: Natalia Vdovina
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Opens
February
At once a powerful psychological thriller and a haunting allegory, "The Return" marks an auspicious feature debut for helmer Andrey Zvyagintsev. With its elegiac mood and pulse-quickening suspense, the pared-down narrative is an unforgettable depiction of primal longing for the father. The film is Russia's entry for the foreign-language Oscar, having nabbed the European Film Awards' Discovery of the Year nod and the Venice fest's Golden Lion. Boosted by strong reviews, it should reap art house returns for Kino International upon its Stateside release in February.
The pic's title refers to the sudden reappearance of a man (Konstantin Lavronenko) whose sons know him only from photographs. As much as his absence has created a dark ache in the household he left 12 years earlier, his return introduces a new, oppressive force -- a complicity of silence. Like his pretty, sad-eyed mother (Natalia Vdovina), teenage Andrey (Vladimir Garin) is content to accept the unexplained turn of events, but his younger brother, Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov), wants answers: Where has the man been, why is he back, and why is he taking the two of them on a fishing trip?
Answers are not forthcoming. As country roads unfold before them, the battle of wills between the increasingly surly Ivan and his enigmatic father intensifies, along with suspicion over the man's identity and a foreboding of violence. The boys accompany Father when mysterious business matters summon him to an island, and the percolating dread gives way to momentary expansiveness as they begin their crossing. But the uninhabited island proves no refuge from escalating hostilities.
The lean script by Vladimir Moiseenko and Alexander Novototsky doesn't oversimplify matters
Father is distant and often brutish but no monster. Possessed of an unexpected rectitude, he tries, in his misguided, sometimes cruel way, to impart lessons in self-reliance to his sons. It's the only language he has to bridge an unfathomable gulf. More than eager to help him is Andrey, a heartbreaking construction of conciliatory gestures
his face beams with love even when Father has treated him harshly. But Ivan, ashamed of his fears and his inferior status as second-born, cleaves tighter to his defiant anger.
The affecting performances never strike symbolic poses -- the story's archetypal power lies in its straightforward drama and assured visuals. From the opening shots of a bruised sky at dusk, DP Mikhail Kritchman's elegant compositions convey the mystery and mournfulness that course through the story like the ever-present element of water, whether in pounding rainstorms or the gently lapping tide. Andrey Dergatchev's music punctuates the proceedings with understated nerve-impulse precision.
THE RETURN
Kino International
Ren Film
Credits: Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Screenwriters: Vladimir Moiseenko, Alexander Novototsky
Producer: Dmitry Lesnevsky
Executive producer: Elena Kovaleva
Director of photography: Mikhail Kritchman
Art director: Janna Pakhomova
Music: Andrey Dergatchev
Costume designer: Anna Barthuly
Editor: Vladimir Mogilevsky
Cast:
Andrey: Vladimir Garin
Ivan: Ivan Dobronravov
Father: Konstantin Lavronenko
Mother: Natalia Vdovina
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
February
At once a powerful psychological thriller and a haunting allegory, "The Return" marks an auspicious feature debut for helmer Andrey Zvyagintsev. With its elegiac mood and pulse-quickening suspense, the pared-down narrative is an unforgettable depiction of primal longing for the father. The film is Russia's entry for the foreign-language Oscar, having nabbed the European Film Awards' Discovery of the Year nod and the Venice fest's Golden Lion. Boosted by strong reviews, it should reap art house returns for Kino International upon its Stateside release in February.
The pic's title refers to the sudden reappearance of a man (Konstantin Lavronenko) whose sons know him only from photographs. As much as his absence has created a dark ache in the household he left 12 years earlier, his return introduces a new, oppressive force -- a complicity of silence. Like his pretty, sad-eyed mother (Natalia Vdovina), teenage Andrey (Vladimir Garin) is content to accept the unexplained turn of events, but his younger brother, Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov), wants answers: Where has the man been, why is he back, and why is he taking the two of them on a fishing trip?
Answers are not forthcoming. As country roads unfold before them, the battle of wills between the increasingly surly Ivan and his enigmatic father intensifies, along with suspicion over the man's identity and a foreboding of violence. The boys accompany Father when mysterious business matters summon him to an island, and the percolating dread gives way to momentary expansiveness as they begin their crossing. But the uninhabited island proves no refuge from escalating hostilities.
The lean script by Vladimir Moiseenko and Alexander Novototsky doesn't oversimplify matters
Father is distant and often brutish but no monster. Possessed of an unexpected rectitude, he tries, in his misguided, sometimes cruel way, to impart lessons in self-reliance to his sons. It's the only language he has to bridge an unfathomable gulf. More than eager to help him is Andrey, a heartbreaking construction of conciliatory gestures
his face beams with love even when Father has treated him harshly. But Ivan, ashamed of his fears and his inferior status as second-born, cleaves tighter to his defiant anger.
The affecting performances never strike symbolic poses -- the story's archetypal power lies in its straightforward drama and assured visuals. From the opening shots of a bruised sky at dusk, DP Mikhail Kritchman's elegant compositions convey the mystery and mournfulness that course through the story like the ever-present element of water, whether in pounding rainstorms or the gently lapping tide. Andrey Dergatchev's music punctuates the proceedings with understated nerve-impulse precision.
THE RETURN
Kino International
Ren Film
Credits: Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Screenwriters: Vladimir Moiseenko, Alexander Novototsky
Producer: Dmitry Lesnevsky
Executive producer: Elena Kovaleva
Director of photography: Mikhail Kritchman
Art director: Janna Pakhomova
Music: Andrey Dergatchev
Costume designer: Anna Barthuly
Editor: Vladimir Mogilevsky
Cast:
Andrey: Vladimir Garin
Ivan: Ivan Dobronravov
Father: Konstantin Lavronenko
Mother: Natalia Vdovina
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/16/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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