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From Singapore with Love
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The Return
A stark yet spellbinding tale of near mythic proportions, Andrey Zvyagintsev's
startling debut feature The Return, pierced right through my soul. For
two captivating hours, I bore witness to seven days in the life of two young
brothers and the return of their long lost father. Together, they will embark o
n a journey in the most unlikely of road movies. The trajectories to which all
three follow, seem destined for the self-discoveries of all involved (myself
included).
Do trust that this journey will not cheat. It will be complete. For here is a
film that promises no false hopes - it offers neither pat resolutions nor epiphanies
for the inattentive. But you have my word: pay The Return but a glimpse of
notice, and it will haunt you in your sleep; it will shake you till you weep. This
is a film to remember.
The Story
Two teen brothers, Andrei (Vladimir Garin) and Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov), fatherless
since as long as they can remember, live with their mother (Natalia Vdovina) in
a nameless Russian town. Throughout their short and uneventful lives, these boys
are cocooned in oblivion – they know very little as to the reasons for their father's (Konstantin
Lavronenko) absence. Their impressions of him are hence vague at best, gleaned from snippets of childhood
memories or remnants of an old faded photograph. But all that changed with his sudden return.
Cue an early scene showing the first face-to-face encounter of father and sons over supper. The tension
between the boys and that man is palpably overwhelming. That is understandable of course, given the
circumstances. In an attempt to remedy this, the father decides to take his two sons on a field trip, eventually
leading to a remote island in a lake. It is here that the occurrence of a dramatic confrontation between these
three kindred spirits will forever alter their relationships.
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The Father and His Sons
Gatecrashing back into their settled lives, the father exudes a cryptic air about him. This is a
stoic man, though with a volatile penchant for sudden bursts of anger. He seemed intent on
making up for lost time, on re-exerting his paternal influence, on regaining their love lost in the
gulf of those absent years. But are these his true intents?
This aura of mystery surrounding the father's past (and present) thus intrigues the boys. Alone
in their tents before they sleep, they will discuss about their daily experiences spent with the
man. As the trip progresses, they challenge each other's changing impressions of this father. In
their obvious attempts at cherishing the memories of this trip, they also made a promise to take
alternate turns at recording their experiences in a journal they brought along.
For most parts of this film, elder brother Andrei can barely contain his wide grin, especially in the
presence of his father. His father's return may have hence fulfilled his lifelong fantasies of such a
reunion. He has been looking for an ideal father figure and he is delighted he might have found
one. This is not a time to hide the excitement.
Ivan, the younger boy, is less receptive and more doubtful. Ever watchful and brazenly questioning,
Ivan almost looks like he is hateful of his father's return, for disrupting the order of his life with his
mother. Throughout the trip, he will find ways to antagonize the already easily irritable father; from
throwing of tantrums to confronting the man about his long absence. But buried beneath this veneer
of negativity lies a boy confused by his own feelings: part excitement, part love and a helpless sense
of resentment.
The two young protagonists of this film, Dobronravov and Garin, are crucial to the success of The
Return. Possessing an intuitive grasp of their respective roles, they rose ably to meet the challenges
of their emotionally draining performances. This paved the way for their rites of passage from boys to
men. (It is indeed a tragic twist of fate that Garin, the promising actor portraying the film's older brother,
died in a swimming accident, soon after this film's shooting ended.)
Lavronenko (the father) delivers a controlled performance of an adult who held his cards close to the chest.
Lavronenko's cryptic role, contrasted with the guileless performances of the two young thespians marked
The Return as an incisively drawn character drama.
The Sights and Sounds
In the grand traditions of Russian cinema, this film's haunting music (Andrei Dergachev) and stunning
imagery (Mikhail Krichman) further contributed to its allure.
The Return was scored to a melancholic melange of woodwinds and droning beats. Natural
sounds were often employed in lieu of music. Sounds of the rustling grass, drizzling rain and pounding
waves further amplify our sense of isolation as we accompany the characters on their journeys.
As the film's setting changes - from a rickety watchtower to gray-shrouded rooms, from pit stop cafes
to the untamed wilderness - its air of mystery is always enhanced by Krichman's cinematography. His lens
captures Russia's abundant beauty and we gaze breathlessly at sun-dappled forests and lakes, rain-swept
roads and woodland paths, pristine coastlines and white clouds over clear blue skies. His stately camera
movements were lyrical yet foreboding.
This near-mystical palette of sights and sounds are as much its stars as its actors.
Some Final Words
The resultant tension created by the discordant dynamics of all the above elements compounded one's feeling
of unease. The point of release may hence be what's most sought after by both the audience and those characters
trapped within The Return's harsh universe. And when that point arrives, some may find an anchor while
others may be set further adrift.
Questions abound throughout this highly interpretative film: Is this trip the father's bid to make "real men" out of his
two young sons? Is this meant to be an opportunity for father and sons to bond? Does he have other undeclared
motives for this journey? What is in that "rusty black box"? How would this trip turn out? How would it all end? All I
can say is this: once this odyssey begins, you will be on your own…
The lives of those Russian characters are distant from mine. But this film exemplifies the universality of cinema. Its simple,
familial truths transcend socio-geographical divides. The Return is one of the year's best films. It will enchant
and entrance you like few films can. In fact, the humanistic insights you may gain, after some post-viewing rumination,
may sail you into the sublime.
Note: The Return is currently screening in Hong Kong cinemas (Opens in Singapore on Jul 22 2004). In Russian
with English subtitles
Written by Sinnerman
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