Andrei Zvyagintsev's 4th film is a major disappointment. It is a well made film but does not have the depth to reveal "Russianness" and "Russian identity". Those who know his works would be able to spot these qualities in his better films such as "The Return", "The Banishment" and "Elena". While watching "Leviathan", most viewers would like to know where is the Russian nation which was nicely depicted in previous films made by Zvyagintsev ? A film cannot be said to present Russia merely by having Russian actors speak their dialogs in Russian language. While attempting to convey human weaknesses in an universal language, Leviathan has failed to take into account its Russian character. Zvyagintsev's troubles do not seem to end here as his film has also been judged by some people in Russia as anti Russian. An erudite viewer needs to ask which aspect of Russia was shown in a negative light ? There is no question of showing Russia in bad light in a film which chose to express Russian identity through the depiction of actors consuming huge quantities of vodka. As there was no Russianness, the question of hurting Russia's image does not even arise. More than the actors, it is the filming location and beautiful scenery which lends a helping hand in making the film popular. One wonders how Leviathan was awarded best screenplay prize at Cannes International Film Festival 2015 as everything is predictable in the film. The whole spectrum of characters is shown in black and white with no scope for any gray areas. As most media has showered abundant praise on "Leviathan", it has very strong chances of winning best foreign language film Oscar in 2015.
Review of Leviathan
Leviathan
(2014)
The question of Russian identity has not been answered in 'Leviathan' !!!!
20 February 2015