Name: The Return - The best thriller to have come out of Russia
Item: The Return
Rating: 90
Author: @stickupfilm

Introduction - A gripping, brooding masterpiece.

Name of film: The Return

Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev

Year: 2004

Official Poster

Trailer

Review

Young Ivan played by Ivan Dobronravov only remembers his father by a photo taken over a decade ago. He is an angry, confused, slight boy and it is left to Ivan’s older brother Andrey, played by Vladimir Garin to look out for him while other boys in their provincial Russian hometown, remorselessly tease. One day, the brothers arrive home from playing to find a mysterious man (Konstantin Lavronenko) sleeping at their home. Their mum says he is her long lost husband and the boys’ father - but is he really the man in the photo and why has he returned after so long… This Venice Globe prize winner is a model of suspense - the taut narrative gives just as much information as we need to get immersed in an overwhelming air of unease over Lavronenko’s increasingly brutal and ill timed attempts to discipline his boys, their confused reaction to him and an ever creeping suspicion about the man’s real motive. Dobronravov, gives an astounding performance from ecstasy to unease to confrontation. The Return is a simple story on the surface, but there is a complexity the goes beyond the battle of wills between 'father' and son and without giving anything away, it can also be seen as a coming of age drama. The film moves steadily and surely towards its climax, while the meticulous, bleached out and at times, scope camerawork and an ambient/trance soundtrack, add to the deep unsettling atmosphere created by a first time director. In a 2016 BBC critics' poll, The Return was ranked the 80th-greatest film of the 21st century. It was filmed on and around Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland. The budget of the film is a secret, but the director and the producer hinted that it was well below $500,000, in one interview. The director also mentioned that the film made its' money back even before it was screened at the Venice Film Festival. The film premiered in Russia on 16 October 2003, with the worldwide premiere taking place on 31 October 2003. Unfortunately Garin drowned shortly after filming and two months before the film's debut. He was only 16 years old. He leaves an outstanding acting legacy.