The Return

The impressive and gripping film The Return won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for the best film. The beautiful classical cinematography, the mysterious mood and the young actors who steal the show with their natural acting are only some of the reasons for this award. The life of two brothers takes a dramatic turn thanks to the sudden return of their father, a man they only know from a 10-year-old photo. Is he really their father? Why is he returning after so many years? The children find the answer on a remote and desolate island, where they go with the man who turned their lives upside down. The wild beauty of the northern lakes and forests gives a special dimension to the human drama that unfolds. The Return is told entirely from the standpoint of the two teenage brothers. The eldest, Andrei, rapidly accepts the father figure. The younger Ivan, on the other hand, fiercely resists the authoritarian man and the mysterious and dangerous journey he makes them embark on. Much information, for instance about the activities of the father, is kept from the viewer. In this way, Zvyagintsev consciously creates space for another, more mythical or religious interpretation of the story, which easily transcends realistic drama or social commentary.