Leviatã

There's certainly a feeling of dread, of malice, that really takes over the film even in its early stages. It's rather impressive. The opening and closing shots are of very much resemblance and they do sort of open and close this one tale. It's very much in line with a dark thriller (and in many ways this is that). It's rather impressive, rather stoic. The cinematography is rather beautiful, and it sets off the tone rather well. There are some truly impressive shots in this piece of work, it even reminded me of The White Ribbon. I'm not sure I loved everything about how the script develops, but the film as a whole is certainly very good and perhaps will remain as the best from the Foreign Language nominees. Certainly recommended, but not always an easy viewing.

From the first five minutes, I was appealed to this movie more than 3/4 of what I've seen this year. It was dark, it was beautifully shot, and established its characters nicely. People complain it took too long for the characters to be established and that the story took too long to unfold. Haven't you heard of visual storytelling? As it plays out, you find out the dark shadows that follow each character and who they really are in the situation they're in. From the wife (most interesting character), to the step- son of the wife. The father is a dark character that is strained beyond limits, and the fantastic acting portrayed by the father is just one of the great performances done by all the actors and actresses. It fights the bond of love, land, and power. The corruption that still stands tall in Russia and its small towns that surround the leviathan that is the story. It unravels extremely slow, but thats what makes more of an impact. The over-thirty second shot of the woman in court explaining the case is so well done, you can really just see the effort put into each role in the film. If only American films could be so well thought out. For any person who has the near two and a half hour time to watch a superb film, sit down and immerse yourself into the gloomy world that inhabits these characters. It teaches you, it haunts you, it stays with you.

The Priest: "All power comes from God. As long as it suits Him, fear not." The Mayor: "And so, it suits Him?"

God may not be immediately apparent in the god-forsaken Russian coastal town of the rewarding film Leviathan, but the devil surely resides there. Or let's just say the proletariat suffers for Politburo politics rather than God to an extent that is disruptive of daily life and lethal in the wrong circumstances. If you cross Crime and Punishment with a dollop of Dr. Zhivago, you might get a hint of how bleak and fateful this rugged world is, relieved by the beautiful timelessness of the landscape.

Kolya (Aleksay Serebryakov) is a vodka-swilling, perpetually smoking, car-fixing local doomed by the fates and his own temper. Not only does the corrupt local mayor, Vadim (Roman Madyanov), seem destined to seize Kolya's property for a patronage resort, but Kolya" wife, Lilya (Elena Lyadova), is also carrying on with his close friend and attorney, Dimi (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), and no good to come of either ill-fortunes.

I was captured the whole time by the sense of impending doom especially when director Andrey Serebryakov is featuring only decrepit buildings and sea wrecks. Given the Russian cinema tradition, those images are sure bets to represent the decay of a society that drinks and broods the whole long day. Not that it's a bad thing; it's just that doom creeps along at a petty pace as it circles victims like Kolya and Lilya, who are decent people but moved by passionate forces that emerge from the rocks and roiling sea. The devil is menacing, powerful, and relentless as it stalks its prey, notwithstanding the priest's counsel that God is the one calling the shots.

Leviathan, like the titular skeleton of a whale that serves as a figurative touchstone, is long, slow, and dark, confirming a stereotype of hardscrabble Russians trying to survive under the portraits of Putin and Gorbachov, the old and new struggling for the heart of the country. Think of Appalachia joined with Montgomery; now there's a whale of a comparison, and this is a behemoth of a film.

Leviathan takes a long, immersive look at the machinations of corrupted power in the lives of the powerless, who desperately struggle to stay the course, hoping against hope to win a losing battle.

A man and his family face off against a politically backed fat cat who wishes to buy the piece of land upon which stands their house, willing to destroy their family nest to raise a modern building in its stead. The grandiose, solemn music of Philip Glass (Akhnaten; Act I Prelude) opens and ends the movie, flanking it like a sturdy front and back cover a fine book from a Russian master's pen. Other than that, the movie is rather stark, musically and otherwise. It is remarkable how effective silent scenes can be. With little music and less sound effects, the film has your undivided attention, reaching emotional heights towards the end. The lack of a musical backdrop further enhances the gritty realism that imbues all the 140 minutes. Relationships between the characters evolve and change significantly over the span of the movie, and though the patterns are somewhat familiar, interpersonal developments are portrayed with commendable subtlety and brilliance. There is a lot of intelligence to the storytelling; much can be understood without words. We embark on a chilling journey into the land and home of ordinary, simple folks, who are kicking and screaming for justice under the suffocating oppression of ruthless power, also blighted by their own frailty.

Leviathan is an outstanding work of art that manages to drive home universally relevant points with sparkling clarity in its refreshingly honest way. A highly recommended piece.

From the very beginning up to very end you can feel the tension and the emotions up to a pure exaggeration! This is not at all something negative! The photography is absolutely enchanting and offers to the viewer that beautiful heartbeat that in a such a film is essential. Amazing, unforgettable landscapes!

You cannot resist in taking sides when you see and understand the heroes battling with their demons and their enemies, that seem to be surrounding everything that makes their lives...

Andrey Zvyagintsev after the wonders of drama, passion and mystic lyricism (Vozvrashchenie and Izgnanie) offers yet another one similar of his creations, adding though, a "spicy" allow me to say subject, a taboo, about corruption in modern day Russia and how all those things which are considered as high values to the Russian State and people, seem to be part in this injustice, destroying peoples' lives.