For dramatic realism about humanity, society and politics, I need look no further than Andrey Zvyagintsev, the director of this devastating, disheartening examination of what happens to a 12-year-old boy who exists - not lives - in a loveless home.
In this story, we're dealing with a divorce-in-progress couple with a young son. The couple actively hate each other; both parents expect the other to have the boy to look after; and both parents are now also involved with another lover. The ex-husband has already got his new partner pregnant. The ex-wife now has a much older and mature man who can look after her. The boy, unwanted and unloved, stays in his room mostly, often gazing out to a playing field in front of the apartment block. Both parents, in contrast, spend more time gazing at their cell phones.
And so, while listening to the vitriolic abuse between his parents and as they argue about where he should live, we see the lad in his bedroom, in the dark, bent over, sobbing uncontrollably....
Next morning, before both parents leave for work, the boy has his breakfast and then rushes off - to school, presumably - and disappears from view. For the next 30 minutes or so of screen time, we follow those parents in their daily drudge, duties, bickering ... and their sexual adventures with new partners. Two days later, they both realise they haven't seen the boy at all.
The remainder of the story details all the necessary aspects of trying to find a missing person, searching everywhere - informative, didactic and pedestrian in its presentation, but necessarily and deliberately done slowly by the director, for emotional and dramatic impact.
Most of the family characters are uniformly repulsive. Officials from various institutions and agencies are ... studiously official, taking nothing for granted, giving nothing gratuitously. All actors range from sufficient to exceptional, particularly the divorcing couple, and other members of the families involved. The dialog for these encounters is real, starkly revealing and truly effective.
The bleak white winter scenery is a perfect metaphor for the coldness of the parents towards their son - now somewhere out in a killer cold and presumably trying to survive.
From my perspective, the ending is inevitable, but I'll let you find out for yourself. To that end, take particular note of a brief scene, at the boy's school, at the 1h: 47 min mark. And note also, towards the end, a snowboarding gathering, at the playing field, with many children engrossed in having winter fun.
I've now seen all of Zvyagintsev's major works, all of which carry a message of some sort. With the power and presentation of this story, Loveless is arguably his most emotional message so far.
So, it's certainly not a movie for everybody. And while this movie is not Zvyagintsev's best - I think it's just too horrific for that - it's still a story to watch if you have even passing thoughts about the plight of homeless children in your city. Globally, an estimated 100 million children are homeless.
Finally, the occasional sound track is truly discordant, so much so I muted it at the start and while credits rolled at the end. It is just noise, imo; and, just maybe, a metaphor for the misery endured by the young boy in his noisy, discordant hell-home.
Highly recommended. Nine out of ten.
In this story, we're dealing with a divorce-in-progress couple with a young son. The couple actively hate each other; both parents expect the other to have the boy to look after; and both parents are now also involved with another lover. The ex-husband has already got his new partner pregnant. The ex-wife now has a much older and mature man who can look after her. The boy, unwanted and unloved, stays in his room mostly, often gazing out to a playing field in front of the apartment block. Both parents, in contrast, spend more time gazing at their cell phones.
And so, while listening to the vitriolic abuse between his parents and as they argue about where he should live, we see the lad in his bedroom, in the dark, bent over, sobbing uncontrollably....
Next morning, before both parents leave for work, the boy has his breakfast and then rushes off - to school, presumably - and disappears from view. For the next 30 minutes or so of screen time, we follow those parents in their daily drudge, duties, bickering ... and their sexual adventures with new partners. Two days later, they both realise they haven't seen the boy at all.
The remainder of the story details all the necessary aspects of trying to find a missing person, searching everywhere - informative, didactic and pedestrian in its presentation, but necessarily and deliberately done slowly by the director, for emotional and dramatic impact.
Most of the family characters are uniformly repulsive. Officials from various institutions and agencies are ... studiously official, taking nothing for granted, giving nothing gratuitously. All actors range from sufficient to exceptional, particularly the divorcing couple, and other members of the families involved. The dialog for these encounters is real, starkly revealing and truly effective.
The bleak white winter scenery is a perfect metaphor for the coldness of the parents towards their son - now somewhere out in a killer cold and presumably trying to survive.
From my perspective, the ending is inevitable, but I'll let you find out for yourself. To that end, take particular note of a brief scene, at the boy's school, at the 1h: 47 min mark. And note also, towards the end, a snowboarding gathering, at the playing field, with many children engrossed in having winter fun.
I've now seen all of Zvyagintsev's major works, all of which carry a message of some sort. With the power and presentation of this story, Loveless is arguably his most emotional message so far.
So, it's certainly not a movie for everybody. And while this movie is not Zvyagintsev's best - I think it's just too horrific for that - it's still a story to watch if you have even passing thoughts about the plight of homeless children in your city. Globally, an estimated 100 million children are homeless.
Finally, the occasional sound track is truly discordant, so much so I muted it at the start and while credits rolled at the end. It is just noise, imo; and, just maybe, a metaphor for the misery endured by the young boy in his noisy, discordant hell-home.
Highly recommended. Nine out of ten.