Leviathan (2014)

Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Starring Aleksei Serebryakov, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Roman Madyanov, Elena Lyadova, Sergey Pokhodaev, Anna Ukolova, Aleksey Rozin, Valeriy Grishko. [R]

In a small seaside town in northern Russia, the corrupt mayor (Madyanov) schemes to force working-class Kolya (Serebryakov) out of his home so he can seize the prime coastal land upon which the house sits. Kolya fights back with the help of an old friend and lawyer (Vdovichenkov), but he is a little man resisting unstoppable forces (hardly the proverbial “immovable object” combatant), and nothing seems to go his way. Bleak twists of fate and pitiless flexes of power and status each serve to condemn government and organized religion, which are especially fitting targets considering the metaphorical parallels between his suffering and those of Job, and the fact that the film was produced during the reactionary and authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin. Intelligent and deliberately paced, photographed with bracing beauty, and featuring a protagonist who’s grim and short-tempered, which makes him anything but the ideal hero (and therefore, much more fascinating). Director Zvyagintsev may overuse symbolism and scenic decay to hammer home his bitterly satirical points, but this kind of cinematic intimidation won’t suffer obtuse subtleties. Zvyagintsev also co-wrote and co-produced with Oleg Negin and Sergey Melkumov respectively. Winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes.

86/100