The Return (2003)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Return (2003) – A. Zvyagintsev

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s very first feature shows him to already be a master of film craft, something which has since been reinforced by 2014’s Leviathan and this year’s Loveless (which I am still looking forward to watching).  Although I am not sure the Tarkovsky comparisons are fully warranted (except that he is Russian and shoots a great landscape), there is no denying that Zvyagintsev does know how to create suspense and tension through a well-executed script and careful attention to character development.  Here, two young brothers, aged 12 and 14 (perhaps), are shocked by the sudden return of their long absent father, whom the younger son can’t recall at all.  The father immediately takes them on an overnight fishing trip during which he acts increasingly menacing and harsh; soon the overnight trip extends to become a longer journey, full of rain and hardships.  A terrible sea voyage in a rowboat features prominently, ending on a secluded, perhaps deserted, island where the boys must confront their hostile father.  Thinking back to Tarkovsky, he was famous for including the four elements in his films, sometimes all in the same shot (see Stalker or The Mirror, for examples); perhaps Zvyagintsev may have also tried this here (there is a tremendous amount of wind and rain plus campfires and at least one ditch being dug).  Other reviewers suggest that The Return contains metaphysical and mythological themes or Freudian ones (in which the sons must overcome the father to, if not to obtain the mother, at least to become men); I didn’t pick this up but it would also suggest a Tarkovsky influence.  What I did see was a tremendously acted film, especially by Ivan Dobronravov (the stubborn younger son), and one that was almost unbearable in its sense of foreboding threat.  As a father of two sons, I may have observed the boys’ relationship more carefully (and felt more tense as a result!).  A sinister nail-biter, if you are in the mood, and a beautiful looking one to boot.