Leviathan (2014)

[Akijama]

Leviathan Blu-ray

The latest drama from Andrey Zvyagintsev, the acclaimed director of "The Return" (Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner and Golden Globe nominee). Kolya (Alexei Serebriakov) lives in a small fishing town near the stunning Barents Sea in Northern Russia. He owns an auto-repair shop that stands right next to the house where he lives with his young wife Lilya (Elena Liadova) and his son Roma (Serguei Pokhodaev) from a previous marriage. The town's corrupt mayor Vadim Shelevyat (Roman Madianov) is determined to take away his business, his house, as well as his land. First the Mayor tries buying off Kolya, but Kolya unflinchingly fights as hard as he can so as not to lose everything he owns including the beauty that has surrounded him from the day he was born. Facing resistance, the mayor starts being more aggressive.

Source http://www.walmart.com/ip/43902870

LEVIATHAN (2014) - Official HD Trailer - A film by Andrey Zvyagintsev - YouTube

[Dubstar]

personally I thought 'The Return' was better.

[lolwut]

I really want to see this (and The Return). I'll be buying this. Hopefully The Return gets a Blu-ray release too.

[format916]

i thought it was just ok. dragged on for way too long.

[Akijama]

Amazon pre-order Leviathan Blu-ray

[Rinzler]

I really liked this one. I may rent it when it comes out to watch again.

[javi92]

Had considered importing the UK disc, but glad to see Sony releasing it so soon. I saw this in its brief theatrical run and it is really a stunning film, but very downbeat. It has a pacing similar to something like Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, though the mood is quite different. Not a blind buy for most, but a good, challenging film.

[Akijama]

Artwork:

[Badas]

Originally Posted by format916

i thought it was just ok. dragged on for way too long.

Agreed. Also got a silly ending which left me a little disappointed.

[starman15317]

Can't wait to see this!

[lolwut]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Artwork:

[Show spoiler]

Sony Pictures Classics need to work on their graphic design. Their artworks have too much text and banners. And that bold blue is nasty. These would have looked better:





I know this has a lot of text as well but it still looks better:

[John Doe]

Disgusting film. I am beginning to think that the author hates his own motherland presenting all the russians as drunks and corrupted bandits. Maybe it is so somewhere there but why to show it in the movie in a such desperate way?

Also I suppose to think that the poster is made for more people's attraction (the whale sceleton) as there was no anything like that in the movie.

2/5

[javi92]

Originally Posted by John Doe

but why to show it in the movie in a such desperate way?

Because the film is basically a modern retelling of the story of Job.

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by javi92

Because the film is basically a modern retelling of the story of Job.

With the same litres of vodka in every shot? Or that is an artistic expression method of the Job story for our nowadays...

[OutOfBoose]

Originally Posted by John Doe

Disgusting film. I am beginning to think that the author hates his own motherland presenting all the russians as drunks and corrupted bandits. Maybe it is so somewhere there but why to show it in the movie in a such desperate way?

Also I suppose to think that the poster is made for more people's attraction (the whale sceleton) as there was no anything like that in the movie.

2/5

Every author puts himself into his work. This movie is content of Zvyagintsev's head, not Russia. It's a weak film and it's Academy nomination is purely political.

[VONi]

Well, it's not like Russia is lacking in drunkards or corruption... I thought the film itself was excellent but absolutely devastating. It's been 2-3 years since I saw it so maybe I'm ready for a round two in the near future.

[GRD43L]

One shouldn't dismiss the story as something that only happens in Russia; it happens everywhere. And more desperate life seems, more abuse of alcohol/drugs, more reliance on religion, etc.

As for John Doe who did not see the whale skeleton in the movie, I don't blame you for falling asleep but the whole skeleton shot is definitely in the movie; I watched it yesterday.

I fell asleep on 2 starts but watched it successfully on the 3rd attempt. The movie demands attention for 2+ hours because it is a Russian movie and to understand what is going on one has to read the subtitles.

I much much preferred Once Upon a Time in Anatolia over Leviathan. Ceylan's movies (OUaTiA & Winter Sleep) show regret & redemption at the end so the audience leaves with a touch of warmth. Zvyagintsev's movies I watched so far (Leviathan and Banishment) start with despair then any hope left is mercilessly terminated. It is realistic and I don't mind it but the movie does take a toll on my emotional bank account. And it is 2+ hours long.

It is a good movie, but I cannot recommend it UNLESS one likes one or more of the following:

Turin Horse
Winter Sleep
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Antichrist
A Ghost Story
Hard to Be a God
Field in England

None of them are party starters . . .

[malakaheso]

^^I was about to say that he is like the Russian equivalent of Ceylan. Obsessed with making a kind of 'literary' cinema. I find him rather dull and Ceylan is going that way too.

I'd rather watch the documentary Leviathan from 2013. hah

[GRD43L]

From the list of your favourites, I see that you are another glutton for punishment!

I may get into the 'Making of' but I've got 9 more Zatoichi to watch! It's going to be a long while before I watch this one again.

I really like 2 Ceylan movies I've watched and his twist in the movie is much more subtle and there are hints within the movie. Zvyagintsev's twists occur suddenly and unexpectedly.

I think Ceylan also likes to inject lights (both natural and artificial) into the darkness where Zvyagintsev's cold darkness is relentless.

Death of Louis XIV, done it.
Faust, as in 2011 Sokurov? Done it
Hard to be a God, done it.
Horse Money, on the list
The Master, done it.
Nebraska, don't know about it.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, done it.
Story of My Death, don't know about it.
Turin Horse, done it.
Also, Birdman, Dunkirk, H8ful 8, Ida, Lincoln (one of my favourites), Mother (the Korean one?), ToL (one of my top 3), Uncle Boonmee (that's an obscure crazy one), Winter Sleep (one of my top 3), WoWS.

I'm making you my movie buddy!

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

^^I was about to say that he is like the Russian equivalent of Ceylan. Obsessed with making a kind of 'literary' cinema. I find him rather dull and Ceylan is going that way too.

I'd rather watch the documentary Leviathan from 2013. hah

Not a massive fan of Zvyagintsev fan, although his last two films have their moments, Loveless especially. All the same, auteurists have been using the "literary" epithet to attack "art cinema" for the better part of the century and yet, a lot of these so-called "literary" art films by Tarkovsky, Antonioni, Bergman et al. have endured far better in collective 'film geek' imagination than auteurist pet filmmakers like, dare I say, Lubitsch or Fuller. Not that Lubitsch was a bad filmmaker. Where do we draw the line? Are Tarkovsky fan boys intellectually lazy about film history or is the 'literary' epithet a convenient short cut to deflect attention away from discussing something one doesn't fully understand, since Tarkovsky films don't feel "filmic" in the sort of "tactile" manner the auteurist paradigm allows for? I'm not convinced