In the first 30 minutes of this film, we see a man leave his beautiful house overlooking a magnificent bay, pick up an old friend at the train station, give his wife a long passionate kiss, and scold his son in a fatherly way. At the end of the film, the house is demolished, the wife is dead, the friend has betrayed him, and the man himself is convicted for a crime he didn't commit.
'Leviathan' shows the slow but inevitable destruction of a man's life. No matter how hard he fights for what is precious to him, there are always other powers who are stronger. Be it a corrupt mayor, who confiscates his house, the orthodox church, which turns him away when he asks for help, or more in general fate itself. This is a truly Russian theme: when an individual fights against the powers that be, he always loses.
But this is not only a story about one man and his struggle for justice. It is also a portrait of modern day Russia. In newspaper interviews, the director denies that this is an anti-Putin film. This is probably a sensible thing to say, but there is no denying that the film is very critical about modern Russian society. At one point this is very clear: during a fun shooting event, the shooters run out of bottles and decide to use pictures of former Russian leaders as a target. 'The present ones are not ready yet', says one of them jokingly. Also, in one scene, the words 'Pussy Riot' can be seen very prominent on a TV screen.
This society is so rotten, that one form of power abuse is answered by another. After the judges decide that the mayor can demolish the house without paying a reasonable compensation, the owner digs up a scandal and threatens to blackmail the mayor.
At the same time, the film shows how important friendship is in a society without decent rule of law. The house owner is supported by his former army buddy, now a powerful lawyer in Moscow. A longtime friend of his wife's decides to take care of the son when authorities propose to put him in an orphanage.
This film is also a cinematographic gem. It contains numerous beautiful shots. One example is the image of a whale skeleton on the beach - a subtle reference to the biblical sea monster Leviathan, which is quoted by an orthodox priest. Of course, Leviathan is also the name Thomas Hobbes gave the mighty state, which in Russia crushes its citizens 'like insects' - as the mayor puts it.
The first great mystery of this film is that this anti-authority statement is partly financed by the Russian ministry of Culture, and that it is the official Russian entry for the Oscars. Could it be that the Russian state is less oppressive than we in the West are inclined to think? Or is this film so small and unimportant that it goes almost unnoticed by the authorities?
The second great mystery is that it didn't win the Palme D'Or in Cannes. In my opinion, this film is by far superior to Winter Sleep, the Turkish winner. In fact, it is one of the best I've seen this year.
'Leviathan' shows the slow but inevitable destruction of a man's life. No matter how hard he fights for what is precious to him, there are always other powers who are stronger. Be it a corrupt mayor, who confiscates his house, the orthodox church, which turns him away when he asks for help, or more in general fate itself. This is a truly Russian theme: when an individual fights against the powers that be, he always loses.
But this is not only a story about one man and his struggle for justice. It is also a portrait of modern day Russia. In newspaper interviews, the director denies that this is an anti-Putin film. This is probably a sensible thing to say, but there is no denying that the film is very critical about modern Russian society. At one point this is very clear: during a fun shooting event, the shooters run out of bottles and decide to use pictures of former Russian leaders as a target. 'The present ones are not ready yet', says one of them jokingly. Also, in one scene, the words 'Pussy Riot' can be seen very prominent on a TV screen.
This society is so rotten, that one form of power abuse is answered by another. After the judges decide that the mayor can demolish the house without paying a reasonable compensation, the owner digs up a scandal and threatens to blackmail the mayor.
At the same time, the film shows how important friendship is in a society without decent rule of law. The house owner is supported by his former army buddy, now a powerful lawyer in Moscow. A longtime friend of his wife's decides to take care of the son when authorities propose to put him in an orphanage.
This film is also a cinematographic gem. It contains numerous beautiful shots. One example is the image of a whale skeleton on the beach - a subtle reference to the biblical sea monster Leviathan, which is quoted by an orthodox priest. Of course, Leviathan is also the name Thomas Hobbes gave the mighty state, which in Russia crushes its citizens 'like insects' - as the mayor puts it.
The first great mystery of this film is that this anti-authority statement is partly financed by the Russian ministry of Culture, and that it is the official Russian entry for the Oscars. Could it be that the Russian state is less oppressive than we in the West are inclined to think? Or is this film so small and unimportant that it goes almost unnoticed by the authorities?
The second great mystery is that it didn't win the Palme D'Or in Cannes. In my opinion, this film is by far superior to Winter Sleep, the Turkish winner. In fact, it is one of the best I've seen this year.