Leviathan

Screening Dates:
Sat 29 November 8:45pm

Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Cast: Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Elena Lyadovaaleksey, Aleksey Serebryakov

In Russian with English Subtitles

This powerful drama from Cannes winner Andrey Zvyagintsev (The Return) begins in a dilapidated port on the Barents Sea, where Nikolai, a hard-drinking mechanic (Serebryakov), his long-suffering wife (Lyadova) and truculent son are under threat of losing their home, which the mayor wants to bulldoze and replace with a fancy dacha.

Hope emerges when a handsome ex-army pal turned lawyer (Vdovichenkov) arrives to aid their cause and in the process expose the mayor’s extensive corruption.

Things take several unexpected turns, but this being a Zvyagintsev film co-written by frequent collaborator Oleg Negin, the family’s struggle against a poisoned bureaucracy ultimately testifies to the power of perseverance and determination, even in the face of the more venal aspects of human nature.

“A NEW RUSSIAN MASTERPIECE“The Guardian