"The Return"

The film was called "The Return" directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev in 2003. I was very impressed by this director because I found out from my professor that this was his first feature film. I have to say after watching today's film, it was definitely one of my favorite films that I have viewed in class this J-term. Everything was so haunting and beautiful. From the incredible cinematography, acting, even the dark, eerie music was wonderful. This is the type of film that I love to watch. I love films that make you think at the end where you can make different interpretations to what was going on. It wasn't predictable, which made this film even more exciting. It is one of those rare films where so much is being shown than said. I felt like I was watching a moving postcard or painting of some sort.

I was comparing this movie to the previous film I watched in class, "Brother" because they both take place in St. Petersburg, Russia and the settings were completely different. "Brother" took place in a more urban location, where "The Return" focused on the nature aspect of the film, which made it so visually appealing.

The characters in "The Return" were all so unique and different in their own way. The mother was only seen in the beginning of the film, but she seemed to be nurturing and comforting in the first scene to her younger son, Ivan when he was too afraid to jump in the lake after his older brother and friends were taunting him. At the same time, there seems to be a secret she is not telling to her sons when the father arrives after a twelve year absense. She told them the dad was a pilot, but I don't think that was the dad's occupation. Maybe she didn't want to explain the truth to her kids because she probably wanted to protect them. When we see the dad return, I could see the fear in the mother's eyes and body language. She was distant and did not say much when he was around.

The father of the film was definitely a character that was hard to analyze. There were many moments in the film where I could not stand the character because of the way he was treating his sons, especially Andrei. He was even abusive at one point. But then I said to myself, maybe that is based on different culture, Russians are more strict, and they discipline their children very rough that way. Or I felt like based on his past during the twelve year absense, something must have happened that probably changed his character emotionally, so he doesn't know how to show open love to his sons.

I thought the way the sons reacted towards their father was something that was very distinct. Andrei, the older brother learns to accept his father after he mysteriously returns and Ivan has a difficult time adjusting by being disrespectful and stubborn, which I can see from his point of view. I found it interesting, the more Ivan tried to push away his father, the dad would act all concern and actually show emotion. The more Andrei would please his dad, the father didn't seem to pay attention as much. For example, Andrei would tell a joke and the dad didn't seem to care as much, he changed the topic. The father hit Andrei a few times also. The first time was when Andrei couldn't put the branches under the muddy, wet stuck tire and when the boys came three and a half hours later to the shore after going fishing.

I had sympathy for both the boys, because they were both reacting and dealing with the same situation in different ways. I felt like Andrei was the most conflicted character in this film. There were times where it seemed like he had to decide to focus and protect his younger brother or to just to continue to follow the father's rough demands, and that way he could win some affection from him. I liked how the film also portrayed Ivan. Ivan represented everything about youth. From the way he was looking through the binoculars in the car because he is very inquisitive about his mysterious father and how he was taking photos during the trip, there was something very artisitic and innocent about it. Yet, he was such a intelligent and aware kid. Even when his father returns, he does not trust him completely. He was very suspicious to the point where he even questioned if it was his real father. I also noticed that it seemed like he acted like the older brother instead of Andrei because he was keeping charge of the diary for their trip.

When the father died though, there seemed to be a change of character from the two boys. Ivan seemed to accept his father once he found out he was dead because he looked worried, shocked, and scared all at once. I think it is clear that Ivan did love his father after all, he was just afraid of him and didn't know if his father loved him. Andrei's reaction on the other hand, creeped me out a bit...He wasn't showing much emotion, he was very calm and taking charge of how to handle the body instructing his younger brother to move it in the boat. The tone of Andrei's voice changed too, which I thought the shift in acting from the actor was brilliant in my opinion.

In this film, there also happens to be a lot of symbolisms. From the black and white photo in the beginning where the boys see their father in the picture when them as babies to the photos taken during the trip. I noticed the father were not visible in any of the pictures taken when he was spending time with them. Also the ending with the same family photo from the beginning, the father was not in it as well. It made me wonder, did the boys imagine their road trip with their father? Or did the father had his own copy of the family photo without him being in the picture? I also questioned that box the father was digging up....The film did not explain what it was about but it made me question about it. Did that box represent the past of the father and was he returning to the island to retrieve it to explain the twelve year absense to his sons? Like i stated before, there were a lot of interpretations one could make of this film, which made me really enjoy the depth of it.