The Return (2004)

More fun with long takes: this Russian film about a father coming back from a long absence to take his two sons on a fishing trip benefits from a poetic, clean filmmaking style that emphasizes the characters' relationships to their surroundings while also not losing track of the characters themselves. (Between this and Twentynine Palms, it's been a better-than-average year for symbolic-road-trip movies.) It's a beautifully directed film, but more important is that it works as drama too -- the push-pull tension between the taciturn father and his sons (the elder overly eager to please, the younger overly hostile towards this stranger claiming to have some relationship with him) is precisely detailed, and the brotherly bond between the two sons is also exquisite and wholly believable. The unexpected narrative event that carries the film to its conclusion throws the whole thing into relief and illuminates the film's points about responsibility and duty -- it is, at heart, about Doing the Right Thing. (The photo montage at the end could represent any number of things; I see it as a representation of the difference between how things can be perceived and how they are, which does tie in to the idea that the 'right' thing may not always look that way.) Haunting and memorable, with a crucial central performance by Ivan Dobronravov as the younger child (it works because we're allowed to see his anger and pettiness as not always justifiable); Konstantin Lavronenko is also excellent in a difficult role, coming off like a Russian Billy Bob Thornton.

Grade: A-