Director
Andrey Zvyagintsev
(LEVIATHAN, ELENA, THE RETURN)

Stars
Aleksey Rozin, Maryana Spivak, Matvey Novikov, Marina Vasilyeva and Andris Keišs

Very few filmmakers are capable of sharing stories that are prominent in their corner of the world and making them truly resonate globally in such a powerful manner that is consistent in each of their films. Usually, in the face of adversity, oppression and/or with some form of backlash post-release as a consequence too. Those of you who appreciate foreign-language cinema will be familiar with writing and directing talents such as Asghar Farhadi (THE SALESMAN and A SEPARATION, which are both Best Foreign Film Oscar Winners) and Fatih Akin (Responsible for this year’s excellent German dramatic thriller, IN THE FADE and HEAD-ON). If you’ve not done so already, add Russian writer and director Andrey Zvyagintsev to that prestigious shortlist. His follow-up to the excellent 2014 drama LEVIATHAN could only be produced in Russia with international financial support after the Russian government disapproved of that film.

In LOVELESS, bickering married couple Zhenya and Boris (very convincingly performed by Maryana Spivak and Aleksey Rozin) remain living under the same roof as they attempt to finalise their divorce while selling their large apartment. So caught up in their own heightened emotions and seeking separate ways of escape from one another, Zhenya and Boris fail to observe the impact their ongoing fighting is having on their only child, Alyosha (Matvey Novikov). When their son goes missing, Zhenya and Boris must try to put their irreconcilable differences aside as they search for Aloysha, with the assistance of a group of good-willed volunteers.

As you may have fathomed, the disintegration of a rocky marriage and the subsequent search for a missing person is merely a basis for writer and director Andrey Zvyagintsev to delve into the actual concerns that are expertly articulated in LOVELESS.

This 2018 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Picture, which did win the Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and Best Film in London at their 2017 Film Festival, is outstandingly structured and boasts a script that is thematically limitless to its audience. Exactly as intended, Zvyagintsev has fascinatingly incorporated numerous eye-opening insights into the mundanities of daily life in this part of Russia and surrounding certain protocols followed when a personal tragedy strikes. Regardless of whether it’s simply a few individual scenes that are devoted to their purpose or is an intrinsic part of this film’s narrative, each observation made is highly relevant and likely personal to you in some way. This unyielding connection to LOVELESS is already strongly formed well before young Alyosha vanishes with barely a trace.

Though its themes assume a more underlying progression from here on, unlike Zhenya and Boris’s son, they never disappear. Several stunning exchanges of dialogue between the divorcing couple and what their cruel words represent, the clear lack of empathy and dismissive temperament on display from local law enforcers and an escalating fear to expect the worst outcome from the search ensure that LOVELESS is as gripping to watch as it is driven a film.

A strong 4 stars. Highly recommended!

Viewer Discretion
MA15+ (Strong sex scenes)

Trailer
LOVELESS

Moviedoc thanks Palace Films for the invite to the screening of this film

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
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