The Return - 2003

Unlike Millennium Actress, I for sure know that I was at the theater when we got The Return.  I remember it because, first of all I saw it there, but also because I remember the kick ass song in the end credits, which would play as I stood outside, waiting to clean the place.

The Return was the first feature film by Andrey Zvyagintsev, and it was also a big deal, I believe winning some awards at Cannes or wherever it played.  We had it for a couple weeks, and I think it was mildly popular from my memory.

The Return is a slow burn drama, the story of two young boys who are shown in the beginning of the film, Andrei and Ivan.  Ivan is younger, and he has a somewhat combative relationship with his older brother.  He chickens out of jumping off a huge tower into a lake below, and that spurns a fight between them.  When they run home, they discover their long absent father has suddenly returned from an unknown location.  He announces over dinner that he is back, and that he will take the boys out fishing the next day.

What unfolds is a strange reunion story between father and sons, and the dramatic issues therein.  We mainly follow the two boys, with their unease, with their questions, with their interpersonal relationship as they go into this unknown territory.  The father takes them out on what unfolds to be a sprawling, multi-day trip, going to an unknown destination.  We see them go car camping, fishing, dining a few times, prepare a boat, and eventually motor off to some random island somewhere in Russia.  It's a huge mystery what his destination is, but throughout the film we get the sense there's a dark motivation to his actions, and now the kids are being dragged into it...

Elegantly shot, immaculately acted, and strange in intent, this film is simply a masterpiece.  I thought so then, I think so now.  It's intense, unique, powerful, and filled with unique austere qualities.  The father figure is someone we struggle to understand a great deal along with the boys, and when tensions rise and when they eventually are forced to deal with this situation, we are really along for the ride.

It's one of those where I want to talk about the plot, beat by beat, and describe the intensity of the shot, or the meaning, or the underlying character motivations - all these little things feel deeply relevant.  There is not a wasted moment in this film, despite how slow it is, and yet it's extremely minimal in approach. 

Overall, the film works on every level.  It is highly enjoyable, and the ending leaves you with many unanswered questions which are sure to gnaw at you later.  This isn't one that you forget about a few moments later or even years later.  I last saw this 17 years ago.  Hows that for leaving an impact?