The Return

So, the most pressing question in cinema is no longer “what the hell was in the briefcase of Pulp Fiction?”… Excellent Russian art that enchants with atmospheric visuals and amazes with flawless performances. The simple plot is a springboard for many questions that everyone will have to answer on their own. Captivating. (23.06.2013)

The Return is a wonderful example of lyrical film and visual art in its purest and most accessible form. The film amazes through its rough, uncouth and curt scenario, which deliberately does not impart anything, does not reveal anything, leaves most of the deductions to the viewer, but absolutely does not do what the viewer expects. Instead, it opens up space for the famous lyrical camera of Mikhail Kričman, which, with its mostly distant perspective and by not following the main story, perfectly rhythmizes the film, which oscillates between descriptive units and captivating details. The contrast of depersonalized and compositionally-polished shots with subjective perspectives gives the film a tangible drama - the more the narrator denies the viewer, the more he distracts from visual overlaps, the more one clings to the narrated, the more one enjoys the lyrical inserts that correspond to the film's mood. Thanks to the color filter and the appearance of the individual exteriors, The Return exudes a kind of coolness, alienation, loneliness and the narrator thus creates a simple but captivating parallel of the environment/story, or lyrical component/epic component. An indispensable part of the mosaic are the excellent performances of all involved. One has no choice but to praise the boys, because they manage very difficult parts and emotional nuances. Also worth noting is the soundtrack, which in many shots gives way to the image and amplifies the disturbing lyrical undertones. Similarly, the music in a minimalist design cleverly reinforces the drama between the characters. The Return is a film very strongly based on form - at least initially, form dominates the content, but the perceived, yet difficult to predict reversal will create a clear and functional metaphor of the father/son relationship in a form so raw and believable that I could not have any objections in this regard. Everything ends with a completely open and flatly burned end, which leaves the viewer in doubt, somehow in the middle of things. The inclusion of black-and-white retrospective photographs has a Lynch-like tinge of mystery... Great job! (15.01.2007)

A sensitively filmed picture about two inseparable brothers, each of whom has a different attitude to their returned father. The elder one accepts his father’s authority without question, while the younger one revolts against him. If you are expecting a heartwarming melodrama about them finding a way to each other, forget it. Here everything plays on a rawer, but also more authentic note and thanks to that the ending of The Return is an experience that is hard to forget. (16.01.2007)