Tag Archives: Leviathan

Loveless – BEST OF 19TH MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL 2017!

Loveless (2017)

written by Souranath Banerjee

Loveless Review: Cold and toxic, a disintegration of marriage metaphorically portraying an entire nation’s predicament!  

My Ratings: 4.4/5

A bitter divorce is never an easy experience for any couple but certainly the real victims are always the children. The most traumatic realisation a child has to cope with is that neither his parents wants custody of him, that he is just an unwanted baggage, a burden, that he is a mere glitch in their ugly adult world.

And that is exactly what happens to 12-year-old young Alyosha (Matvey Novikov), the terrible hard-hitting feeling of being loveless.

On one side Alyosha’s father (Aleksey Rozin) is having an affair with a younger woman who is pregnant with his child and on the other hand his harsh-speaking mother (Maryana Spivak) is passionately in love with a wealthy older man. On the verge of a nasty divorce the parents indulge themselves into a spate of brutal outbursts completely oblivious of the child who eventually decides to vanish from their lives for good.

Where is he gone? Has something happened to him? A kid cannot just disappear like that?

lovelessBut then writer/director Andrey Zvyagintsev (of Leviathan fame) along with writer Oleg Negin uses this tragic event to serve a bigger purpose, to narrate and critique the conditions in contemporary Russia, a country where everyone is desperately looking for – a lost loveless kid or may be it is simply Love that they are searching for?

Here we are talking about one nation (though I personally think it is a worldwide problem) where Happiness has become a piece of merchandise that can be negotiated and bought at a price while the value of Family-stability been reduced to a sign of status symbol. Where emotions and duty take the second seat while greed, ego and lust for a better-life gets the priority.

Absolute brilliance in the acting department – especially Maryana Spivak and Aleksey Rozin really make you hate and even sympathise lovelesswith them to a certain extent. The secondary characters Natalya PotapovaMarina Vasileva and Anna Gulyarenko also have such strong impact on the story and the audience.

But the best part is Mikhail Krichman‘s unique cinematography, the long takes and the subtle tracking of the camera brilliantly adds to the sentiments of the characters and the overall feel of the movie.

The music by Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine is spot on and cleverly used only when it is actually required.

Official submission from Russia in the ‘Best Foreign Language Film‘ category at the 2018 Oscars. This is undoubtedly one of the best cinema of last year; very rarely does one film achieves a feat of representing a country and the psychology of its inhabitance with such savage precision and success.

Go watch it!

Similar interest: Leviathan Review

Similar Interest: Best Russian Classic Comedy Films

Poster courtesy: www.imdb.com

Best Foreign Language Films of 2014 (10+1list)

Best Foreign Language Films of 2014.

Written by Souranath Banerjee

2014 was a unique year for world Cinema.

Quality films were made across the globe; stories that denounced war and corruption, films which tested complex relationships, cinemas that didn’t shy away from portraying the many complexities of our human nature.

Directors skilfully explored the subtlety of emotions and managed to create an immense impact upon the worldwide audiences.

And so, here is a list of some of the Best Foreign Language Films of 2014 that shouldn’t be missed at any cost.

1. Force Majeure 

Original title: Turist. Country: Sweden.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjjzVbTBF8o

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Now how does a person react in that split second of time when one assumes his life to be in danger? In such a life-threatening moment will a man prove himself to be ‘man’ enough and defend his family or will he panic and run for his own life?

(Click for the film review)

Directed by Ruben Östlund, Force Majeure won the Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival

2. Stations of the Cross

Original title: Kreuzweg, Country: Germany. 

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNp7lb1OWow

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Story of a 14 year old Catholic girl who decides to dedicate his life to God.

Conservative family, the teachings of the Church and a young vulnerable mind that tries to cope with the tough religious restrictions.

Directed by Dietrich Brüggemann, one of the most powerful films ever!

3. Tangerines

Original title: Mandariinid, Country: Estonia.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdHwowSRRcs

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War has always been the cause for destruction, be it human lives or the season’s crop – the Tangerines.

(Click for the film review)

Directed by Zaza Urushadze the film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film in the Oscars.

An unpredictable ending and superb performances.

4. Mommy

Original title: Mommy, Country: Canada.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9LVLCYvqSI

mommy-posterXavier Dolan (who won the jury prize at 2014 Cannes Film Festival) directed this brilliant film that tells the story of a widowed single mother and her fifteen year old son and also their mysterious neighbors. 

The love and the endless struggle a single mother has to go through; the film portrays the roller-coaster of emotions and the sacrifices of a mother to raise her teenage son.

5. Leviathan

Original title: Leviafan, Country: Russia.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oo7H25kirk

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Official submission of Russia for Oscars, nominated among the best five Foreign Language Films; won the Golden Globes and also competed for the most prestigious Palme d’Or award in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

(Click for the film review)

Director Andrey Zvyagintsev doesn’t flinch away from showing the ugly face of corruption.

6. Ida

Original title: Ida, Country: Poland.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXhCaVqB0x0

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Only a few very rare films have images so powerful that they tend to overshadow everything else, even the narrative and the story-line seems to dissolve in the pure beauty of each and every frame.

(Click for the film review)

Directed by Pawel PawlikowskiOfficial submission of Poland to the Best Foreign Language Film category and Ida won the Oscar!

7. Corn Island

Original title: Simindis Kundzuli, Country: Georgia.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5Fc9ydpP_Q

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The film is a take on the dominance of nature over mankind; in a very subtle way the film shows the foolishness of man who are in constant battle with each other but can never fight the nature.

George Ovashvili in his film uses only a handful of dialogues, but the impact of the visuals and the story are so strong that it speaks volumes to the audience.

8. Wild Tales

Original title: Relatos salvajes. Country: Spain.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUnXv6R2HI8

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An anthology with six individual short films, all of which having a common theme of retribution and vengeance.

(Click for the film review)

These films (all six of them) are wicked, satirical and deranged (to some extent) but again at the same time they are clever, hilarious and highly entertaining. Awesome work by director Damián Szifrón.

9. Two Days, One Night

Original title: Deux jours, une nuit. Country: Belgium.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb3zBq6gVRk

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Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne this film is all about being positive and standing your ground.

(Click for the film review)

Long takes, simple camera angles, natural dialogues and flawless acting – the brilliant performance by mesmerizing French actress and singer Marion Cotillard really makes this film worth it.

10. Winter Sleep 

Original title: Kis Uykusu. Country: Turkey.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBAa-QtTxxE

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This year Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the prestigious Palme d’Or award for Winter Sleep at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

(Click for the film review)

Set in the picturesque backdrop of central Anatolia, Winter Sleep is the story of an aged, rich, philosophical hotel-owner named Aydin (Haluk Bilginer). A rare cinematic experience.

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most unique one. A must watch).

+1. The Raid 2

Original title: The Raid 2: Berandal, Country: Indonesia.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG9uFX3uYq4

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SWAT team member Rama goes undercover to fight against the corrupt police and the underworld kingpins.

Exceptionally realistic fight scenes shot with brutal precision, all the actions showcase the Indonesian fighting style of Pencak silat.

Great story and performances but overall this is THE best action film of the recent times!

A few awesome films that didn’t make this list but are totally worth mentioning are BlindGoodbye to LanguageA Girl Walks Home Alone at NightWe Are the Best!Like Father, Like SonThe AttorneyA Coffee in BerlinStranger by the LakeThe Dance of Reality and Timbuktu.

Leviathan (2014)

Leviathan (2014)

written by Souranath Banerjee

My Ratings: 4/5.

Leviathan Review: Leviathan is the Official submission of Russia at the Oscars and was nominated among the best five Foreign Language Films of 2014.

Leviathan also won the Golden Globe Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category this year. 

In the Cannes Film Festival Leviathan won the best screenplay award and also competed for the most prestigious Palme d’Or award.

Leviathan-poster1Well, just by the film’s track-record for awards it is evident that Leviathan is a film of exquisite quality.

Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev the film portrays the helplessness of the general public in the hands of the corrupted, powerful  political authority.

An ordinary family trying to stay afloat as dangerous ‘Biblical sea monsters’ (that’s what ‘Leviathan’ actually means) in the form of unscrupulous political leaders (the Mayor in this case) plans a deluge that will sweep away the powerless  and the common forever.

Brilliant performances by all the main leads Aleksey SerebryakovElena LyadovaRoman MadyanovVladimir Vdovichenkov

It is interesting to notice how the relations between the characters continuously change as the film progresses and the audience is always left guessing about the unpredictable storyline.

Awesome cinematography by Mikhail Krichman and beautiful musical score by Andrey Dergachev.

A refreshingly honest film that manages to project the much realistic  scenario of today’s corrupted world. Film enthusiasts, trust me – you don’t want to miss Leviathan.

Similar Interest: Loveless Review