Leviathan

"All power comes from God. As long as it suits Him, fear not."

After receiving an Oscar nomination for best foreign film, I finally decided to watch this 140 minute long movie. I was hopeful I was finally going to see Russians not having to play villains, but to my surprise this film attacks its own society and the corruption behind its government and official church. It takes a while to get into but after the slow opening twenty minutes the plot began to hook me and the next two hours flew by as the plot got better and better. Despite being a film that brilliantly attacks the corruption of its own government and society, it does so in a universal way so we can all relate to these issues. Loosely based on the biblical story of Job, we follow the main character go through one injustice after another. Director Andrey Zvyagintsev brilliantly captures the humanity of this working class family who are forced out of their own property by the corrupt local Mayor. It is the universal tale of an everyday man struggling against the injustices of an oppressive system (The Clash's "I Fought the Law" song came to mind several times while watching this film). We get glimpses of hope when a friend of the family comes to their defense and tries to confront the big man by uncovering some dirt from his past, but some interesting twists take place and the family dynamics are shaken. The final fifteen minutes of this film were brilliant and I am glad Zvyaginstsev didn't sell out for an easy or feel good ending. The cinematography is also gorgeous thanks to the beautiful location. The film takes place in a small coastal town near the Barents Sea and we get several amazing shots of the waves crashing into the rocks. The beautiful landscape is a huge contrast with the darkness of the corrupt characters. Leviathan is a brilliant film that works as a social satire. Leviathan is a monstrous sea creature mentioned in the Bible, and it is the perfect title for a film that focuses on a small man facing monstrous obstacles. I was surprised that I ended up enjoying this film as much as I did. I still have a lot of catching up with my foreign films, but so far this is my favorite and my frontrunner for the Oscars.

The performances in this film were also great. Aleksey Serebryakov plays the lead character and he captures the essence and humanity of the hard working class. He has built his own home were he lives with his wife and child working as a mechanic. His wife works at a fish factory. He is desperate and angry for the injustice he is suffering knowing that he is about to lose his home and property. His good friend who is now a lawyer in Moscow has come to his rescue. He is also brilliantly played by Vladimir Vdovichenkov. He is the voice of reason in the film and is always trying to calm down Nikolay who has a strong temper. The corrupt lawyer is played by Roman Madyanov. He makes it easy for the audience to hate him because he represents all the injustice and corruption that we face. Nikolay's wife is played by the beautiful Elena Lyadova and she does a great job of portraying this fragile character. However my favorite supporting performance came from Anna Ukolova who plays a friend of the family and also works with Nikolay's wife. She always has some sarcastic comment about men or officials and she delivers most of the laughs in the movie. Her character helped lighten up the mood at times. The other thing that lightens the mood is the constant drinking in the movie (warning: you might get drunk just by watching them jug down those Vodka bottles). The harsh conditions that these people face force them to find refuge in their alcohol in order to suppress their pain (something many people can relate to as well). What really stands out in this film is that instead of portraying some of the key scenes Zvyaginstev decides to omit them and we are only exposed to the results and its consequences.

I must say I was very excited to see this movie in the international film festival hosted here in Auckland.

Set in corrupt small northern Russian town, that could very much be any other town, or even country, in the world, Leviafan explores the confrontation of a man against the mayor. The last wants to kick him out of his house for his own benefit.

Superb photography, superb acting, spine chilling music, solid plot and dark humor touches make Leviafan a truly rewarding experience. One of the best movies I have seen in some time. Do not let the duration discourage you, hours fly. When you glance at your watch for the first time the movie will be over.

Be ready to pity, hate and love the characters. Laugh, feel anguish and rage and enjoy this emotional roller-coaster.

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.

"Leviathan" is a David and Goliath story set in a desolate Russian fishing-town.

We've seen it before- a man desperately tries to keep his property being taken away from rich greedy fat cats.

But this is also a strong family drama, a tale of friendship, betrayal, corruption, hope, hopelessness...

Impressive acting overall, the very slow paced narrative and almost no music besides two fitting Philip Glass pieces make this a movie to remember.

The cinematography also deserves a mention, there are countless wonderfully framed scenes.

Excellent slow burning drama.