The director Zvyagintsev perfectly displays how imperfect are people today. The film shows how much people can not love each other, be selfish, and how not to be happy. The message is very clear, it does not call you to not love, but opposite, shows the effect of it. Hate and loveless is in every second and shot of the film. And also music, is very cold and strongly underlines the emptiness from love in the reality.
Two main protagonists, the parents – Boris and Evgenia, are both negative characters. Both filled with a heap of resentment, despair and sorrow from unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Their emotions are like a stretched string that does not make a sound. The words of Evgenia – "I just want to be happy" while crying shows her misery. Evgenia was saying that the only thing she dreamt about is to leave her mother, and we can understand her after watching her mother's hysterical monologue in the house. She is a woman who cares only about social media and reality shows about love on TV in the evenings, who regrets having a son, and every time she was showing that and every time it sounded terrible... Even not calling him a man in front of other people. From other perspective she is acting as a good friend and a perfect woman in front of her rich lover.
Boris is a man who cares only about having a good job and a good name in the company. He is not able to be a loving husband or a father what is displayed in the end of the film. His new life did not born any new feelings in him, the only thing he is interested are the news on TV.
After parents decide to divorce after 12 years of marriage and come to the point where their son Alesha has no place in their new lives, decide to give him away to children's home but they can't decide who will tell him about that as none of them really cares how he will be. After young boy hears the conversation he decides to run away from the house. Before he was a cute boy, playing, drawing, chatting with a friend about some cool places in the forest but after this conversation he even stronger realized that after school his way will be to children's house..all his hopes died. This very small scene with him is very emotional, I personally couldn't take it out of my head throughout the whole film.
After that we don't see the boy in the film and I was not interested watching his parents at all. Only thing what was on my mind was a boy, but here is the most genius decision we face the reality. After the tragedy watching parent's reaction was shameful. They were trying to visually participate in looking for the son but all this was fake.
Again director displays today's people's priorities. Giving away the number in the restaurant quickly and going back to the table with non- handsome but rich man, scrolling news feed non-stop, taking pictures and drinking for love and selfies. Also can't not mention the police, their words that "statics are always right", their indifferent approach to the situation, "be thankful for having an information how it works" and then we see volunteers who are looking for an unknown to them boy day and night non-stop for free, and after that we ask, who is working in the police? Where is humanity? Cast is perfect, never extra people in the film, with each shot getting only important information about the protagonists.
The open ending films always make you think about the story, so what happened? But in my case I thought about a detail in morgue (which was really emotional) if the boy that was found was really him or not who knows maybe it was him and parents decided to not to know about it? But otherwise they would have felt better if they "got rid of him" that way.
Camera work is amazing! It was a pleasure to watch the scenes. Colours, angles and eloquent shots that were saying everything! In the first seconds when it was shown naked trees and also a broken tree at the lake, it straight away gave the atmosphere that something will go wrong Also the music was brilliant, it was fulfilling the atmosphere . The scare, fairs, hate all was felt in the music.
Remarkably, I liked the film and an open ending could be interpreted in different ways, but for me it was clear that whatever happens, people don't change. Boris is cold to his new child and wife And Evgenia also became as cold as she was with Boris in the beginning.. scrolling her phone and not being as lovely as before.
I would recommend it to everyone and ask to analyze for themselves, what they will find in common.
Two main protagonists, the parents – Boris and Evgenia, are both negative characters. Both filled with a heap of resentment, despair and sorrow from unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Their emotions are like a stretched string that does not make a sound. The words of Evgenia – "I just want to be happy" while crying shows her misery. Evgenia was saying that the only thing she dreamt about is to leave her mother, and we can understand her after watching her mother's hysterical monologue in the house. She is a woman who cares only about social media and reality shows about love on TV in the evenings, who regrets having a son, and every time she was showing that and every time it sounded terrible... Even not calling him a man in front of other people. From other perspective she is acting as a good friend and a perfect woman in front of her rich lover.
Boris is a man who cares only about having a good job and a good name in the company. He is not able to be a loving husband or a father what is displayed in the end of the film. His new life did not born any new feelings in him, the only thing he is interested are the news on TV.
After parents decide to divorce after 12 years of marriage and come to the point where their son Alesha has no place in their new lives, decide to give him away to children's home but they can't decide who will tell him about that as none of them really cares how he will be. After young boy hears the conversation he decides to run away from the house. Before he was a cute boy, playing, drawing, chatting with a friend about some cool places in the forest but after this conversation he even stronger realized that after school his way will be to children's house..all his hopes died. This very small scene with him is very emotional, I personally couldn't take it out of my head throughout the whole film.
After that we don't see the boy in the film and I was not interested watching his parents at all. Only thing what was on my mind was a boy, but here is the most genius decision we face the reality. After the tragedy watching parent's reaction was shameful. They were trying to visually participate in looking for the son but all this was fake.
Again director displays today's people's priorities. Giving away the number in the restaurant quickly and going back to the table with non- handsome but rich man, scrolling news feed non-stop, taking pictures and drinking for love and selfies. Also can't not mention the police, their words that "statics are always right", their indifferent approach to the situation, "be thankful for having an information how it works" and then we see volunteers who are looking for an unknown to them boy day and night non-stop for free, and after that we ask, who is working in the police? Where is humanity? Cast is perfect, never extra people in the film, with each shot getting only important information about the protagonists.
The open ending films always make you think about the story, so what happened? But in my case I thought about a detail in morgue (which was really emotional) if the boy that was found was really him or not who knows maybe it was him and parents decided to not to know about it? But otherwise they would have felt better if they "got rid of him" that way.
Camera work is amazing! It was a pleasure to watch the scenes. Colours, angles and eloquent shots that were saying everything! In the first seconds when it was shown naked trees and also a broken tree at the lake, it straight away gave the atmosphere that something will go wrong Also the music was brilliant, it was fulfilling the atmosphere . The scare, fairs, hate all was felt in the music.
Remarkably, I liked the film and an open ending could be interpreted in different ways, but for me it was clear that whatever happens, people don't change. Boris is cold to his new child and wife And Evgenia also became as cold as she was with Boris in the beginning.. scrolling her phone and not being as lovely as before.
I would recommend it to everyone and ask to analyze for themselves, what they will find in common.
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