DVD Review: The Return

I haven’t seen a Russian movie in ages. I was tempted to go see The Night Watch but after much deliberation I decided against the “Russian” Matrix. It’s a good thing Russian cinema moved away from the subject of the Great War though.

The Return is Andrey Zvyagintsev's feature debut and has that authentic indie movie aura. He’s not the only debutante in the credits. In fact, this is a first feature for most of his crew.

A ton of credit should go to Mikhail Krichman who does an amazing job as a first-time DP. The colors are very intense yet they lack saturation, which contributes to the overall mood.

In a recent interview, Andrey Zvyagintsev said he chose “Misha” because of the vacation video he shot when in Spain. Same goes for the subdued and somber soundtrack, courtesy of Andrei Dergachyov, another first-timer.

The Return is an allegory. The movie does work on its literal level quite well, but there’s a deep undercurrent that puts these archetypes in a political, and even religious, context.

The story is that of two boys – Andrey, played by Vladimir Garin, and Ivan, played by Ivan Dobronravov. They’re growing up in a small Russian town with their mother and grandmother. The inciting incident is that of their father coming back. He’s been missing for 12 years and the boys have to look for the family album in order to recognize him.

“It’s him,” they both agree and the mother concurs. This doesn’t change the fact that a stranger has entered the boys’ lives. The father, Konstantin Lavronenko, is an ominous figure. He offers to take them fishing. They’re not really in a position to object.

Andrey is the hopeful and submissive one, he ends sentences with “papa,” while Ivan is filled with doubts about this new authority figure. The road/boat trip follows an interesting path, exploring the interactions between the boys and the new person in their lives. It’s clear from the start their father’s word is the new law and the consequences for disobeying are always unpleasant.

Article Author: Krasimir Koichev

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