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The return (Vozvrashcheniye) - Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Andrei Zvyagintsev
Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities
Movie propaganda
In contemporary Russia young brothers Vanya (Ivan Dobronravov) and Andrey (Vladimir Garin) have grown a deep attachment to each other to make up for their fatherless childhood. Running home after a fight with neighbourhood kids the boys are shocked to discover their father (Konstantin Lavronenko) has returned after a 12-year absence. With their mother's (Natalya Vdovina) uneasy blessing Vanya and Andrey set out on what they believe will be a fishing vacation with their taciturn father.
Though at first ecstatic to be reunited with the father they've only known from a faded photograph, the boys strain under the weight of their dad's awkward and increasingly brutal efforts to make up for a missing decade of parental supervision. Vanya and Andrey find themselves alternately tested, scolded, scrutinised and ignored by their father through a changing series of encounters and hardships.
As truck-stops and cafés give way to rain-swept, primevally beautiful wilderness coastline, Vanya's doubts about his father give way to open defiance. Andrey's powerful need to bond with a father he's never known begins, in turn, to distance him from Vanya.
Vanya and his father's test of wills escalates into bitter hostility and sudden violence as the trio arrives at their mysterious island destination.
The dubious sanctuary of a rickety light tower, the desperate reassurance of a stolen knife, the cryptic allure of a rusting strong box and the fleeting safety of a hastily patched boat give evidence to the ultimately tragic conclusion of Vanya and Andrey's harrowing father and son journey and the heart-breakingly transitory nature of their reunion.
Persons of interest
- Vladimir Garin .... Andrey
- Ivan Dobronravov .... Ivan
- Konstantin Lavronenko .... Father
- Natalya Vdovina .... Mother
- Galina Petrova .... Grandmother
- Vladimir Moiseyenko .... Screenwriter
- Aleksandr Novototsky .... Screenwriter
- Andrei Zvyagintsev .... Director
Cinematic intelligence sources
- The return (Vozvrashcheniye) official movie site
- The return (Vozvrashcheniye) QuickTime movie trailers
- Awards and film festivals:
- Camerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography 2003: Nominated: Golden Frog (Mikhail Krichman)
- Cinematic Intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2004: Nominated: Best film with subtitles, Best criminal (The Father - Konstantin Lavronenko)
- Cottbus Film Festival of Young East European Cinema 2003: Won: Award of the Ecumenical Jury (Andrei Zvyagintsev); Special Prize Feature Film Competition best direction (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- César Awards 2004: Nominated: Best Foreign Film (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- European Film Awards 2003: Won: European Discovery of the Year (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- Fajr Film Festival 2004: Won: Crystal Simorgh Best Film (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 2004: Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
- Gijón International Film Festival 2003: Won: Best Actor (Ivan Dobronravov, Vladimir Garin, Konstantin Lavronenko), Best Screenplay (Vladimir Moiseyenko, Aleksandr Novototsky), Special Jury Award (Andrei Zvyagintsev); Nominated: Grand Prix Asturias Best Feature (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) 2004: Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
- Ljubljana International Film Festival 2003: Won: Kingfisher Award (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- Locarno International Film Festival 2003: Nominated: Golden Leopard (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- Palm Springs International Film Festival 2004: Won: FIPRESCI Prize (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- Russian Guild of Film Critics 2003: Won: Best Cinematography (Mikhail Krichman), Best Debut (Andrei Zvyagintsev), Best Film
- Thessaloniki Film Festival 2003: Won: FIPRESCI Prize - Special Mention Parallel Sections (Andrei Zvyagintsev - For its delicate balance between subject and style, its excellence in the direction of the actors and for telling a strong story without special effects and with minimal means.)
- Tromsø International Film Festival 2004: Won: Audience Award (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- Venice International Film Festival 2003: Won: CinemAvvenire Award Best First Film (Andrei Zvyagintsev), Golden Lion (Andrei Zvyagintsev), Luigi De Laurentiis Award (Andrei Zvyagintsev, Dmitri Lesnevsky), SIGNIS Award (Andrei Zvyagintsev), Sergio Trasatti Award (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
- NB: Russian language dialogue with English language subtitles
- Studios and distributors:
Intelligence analyst
Special Agent Matti
Theatrical report
My god. It's no wonder the Russians invented vodka. The return is so pessimistic that it makes Australian films look like Disney.
Security censorship classification
M (Mature themes)
Surveillance time
110 minutes (1:50 hours)
Not for public release in Australia before date
Film: Melbourne, Sydney: 24 June 2004
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