Movie No. 13 (2015): LEVIATHAN
Leviathan (2014)
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Cast: Alexei Serebriakova, Elena Liadova, Roman Madianov
In Russian, with English subtitles
In a beautiful coastal town in northern Russia, the town mayor wants a modest property on a prime real estate owned by Kolya, a car mechanic who lives in a house on the property with his young wife and his son from previous marriage. When Kolya refuses the compulsory purchase order, the mayor starts harassing him. But Kolya, with the help of his friend, a lawyer from Moscow, fights the mayor and the organized corruption in the town government.
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Cast: Alexei Serebriakova, Elena Liadova, Roman Madianov
In Russian, with English subtitles
In a beautiful coastal town in northern Russia, the town mayor wants a modest property on a prime real estate owned by Kolya, a car mechanic who lives in a house on the property with his young wife and his son from previous marriage. When Kolya refuses the compulsory purchase order, the mayor starts harassing him. But Kolya, with the help of his friend, a lawyer from Moscow, fights the mayor and the organized corruption in the town government.
This premise suggests a story that's been used in many previous movies. But this contemporary retelling of the Book of Job has the same intensity as the Terry Malloy's struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses in On The Waterfront; it also has the well-placed Tarkovskian touch which is obvious in the film's opening and final scenes and in scenes that are deliberately made slow.
As of this writing, this movie has already won the Golden Globes for Best Foreign-Language Film and got nominated in the same category at the 87th Academy Awards.
Rating: 4.0/4.0
Date seen: January 15, 2015
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