The Return

I didn't know what to expect from the movie "The Return" directed by Andrei Zvyagintev, but I ended up enjoying it. It's not a normal movie you expect to see, in the that tone was sort of ominous and always had new hurdles for the Characters. First thing I really picked up on was the cool camera techniques the movie had. It always had great angles and gave depth, in scenes like when the brothers are chasing each other, or when they first start driving.

The characters in this movie were portrayed very well in my opinion. Ivan, or "squirt", was obviously very stubborn as his brother points out, and is very dramatic. I work with kids at a day camp in the summer, and I can relate Ivan to a number of kids. Granted the father was very rough on him- but if things didn't go his way, he was the first to make the situation difficult for bother his brother Andrey and his father- that bring me to Andrey.
Whereas Ivan was more of a "Mommas Boy" Andrey was much more of a Daddy Boy. He always was very respectful to his father. Additionally he played the role of an older brother very well. He would pick on his younger brother, but would always cheer him up right after. Andrey also helped Ivan get through his brothers emotional break-downs with his father.
The Father's name and background are absent from this movie but it seems as though he is involved with some type of crime. When the family is at the dock, there is a shot of him carrying what seems to be a wrapped up body. It seems like he is trying to catch up on lost time of toughing up the two boys, and teaching them new things. He is very tough on the boys- especially Ivan- but it seems as though he wishes to teach them. He really seems emotionless throughout the movie whenever Ivan gets upset, that is until the very end. You get this view of this mean father, but really at the end you see worry on his face once Ivan makes a run for it. You start to see the lengths this father will go to help his sons when he starts climbing the side, and once you know it he is dead. Ivan really has no connection with his father, until he dies. Ivan would complain the entire movie, but once his father died he dragged his body all night without complaining until he was literally exhausted.
At the end the movie goes into a photo montage and the first thing I realized is that none of them (but the last one) has a picture of the father. They make a point of journalizing everyday to make sure they remember the time with their father, and they had forgot to even take a picture of/or with him.

Great film, but my stomach really dropped when the father died. I really realized the good he was trying to do when he died. Though his techniques were demanding I could understand them.