It would be an understatement to say that the expectations for the new film of Andrey Zvyagintsev were great. Considering the reputation he received with his earlier films, this is entirely justified. Loveless (Nelyubov) was premiered at this year's festival in Cannes, and a major critical success was confirmed by the main jury award.
The film's plot is relatively standard, but not at all average. The couple are in the final stage of divorce, but for one reason or another, none of them wants to worry about the child. Twelve-year-old Aljoša is aware that he is neglected and he runs away from home. A long search for him and fear of the worst will force parents to think a little about their actions, but will they make it worse? This seemingly simple framework serves Zvyagintsev to portray and question much more important topics in contemporary Russian society, but also in the whole world.
Loveless doesn't focus on many characters, even small Aljoša is in the background of this narrative.
The focus is on his parents - Zhenyai and Boris. Their mutual relationship is absolutely disrupted and it deals with the concepts of hostility and total hatred, but what is particularly emphasized in this case is their egoism. Zhenya has a lover, but her behavior and actions are a manifestation of disillusionment, lust and desire for attention. On the other hand, Boris is completely focused on his work and the effort to keep him - because his director is an Orthodox fundamentalist and he only employs family people. In his confusion and self-centeredness Aljoša is completely forgotten by his parents.
In some scenes Zvyagintsev clearly shows us that Aljoša is not the desired child, and his disappearance and absence from the screen during the film leaves us with only negative characters. In addition to the group that tries to find him, everyone else in the end looks for themselves. At one point, Anton (Zhenya's Lover) says that you don't have to live a life in which you are unhappy, and it's very clear that there is no love in the pale and gray world, but it's all just copies and reflections of once long lost desires and aspirations. Zvyagintsev brutally depicts these situations, and his conclusion is a shocking fact that is actually an image of our reality.
Some viewers might at one point say Loveless is a dull film. And of course, that would be right, but not completely. The drama is really dominated by fading tones of completely neutral colors such as white and gray, but precisely through them Zvyagintsev creates an atmosphere that describes his idea on many levels. People are dull and indifferent. From the school, through the street to the children's room, there is no warmth required for the development of a child.
The long silent shots of space and objects just illustrate this coldness of the world in which Aljoša moves. The characters moving in its vicinity are to a certain extent one-dimensional, and their depth is only given by the exposure narratives of the characters themselves. This procedure can be relatively disturbing at some point, but the final result makes it negligible.
Zvyagintsev criticizes the modern family, social norms and worldviews that create a mass of dull, cold blood zombies, and with the film itself says: "The image of the world is gray, isn't it?".
This was my translation from Croatian to English from Ziher hr article ''Čovjek ne može živjeti bez ljubavi'' by A.Bajrovic
I am amazed to read this article because after reading this article my mind becomes open.
I am aware, I have been too closed with new things and feel already know. It affected me that I became a Sok Tahu This article reminds me to keep digging and keep searching for information and new things.
But I have not understood the substance of the positive thought itself as to what and how to make our minds become positive. Maybe in another article can explain a little bit the meaning of positive thoughts.
Keep the spirit and success always keep growing and working on STEEMIT do not despair
wanna see , really
Need to see this one , read the plot recently and it's interesting . His "The Return" was a moving film albeit in a very different way. I read that his films doesn't get support from the government, this was done by international support. Is it?
I think «Loveless» is the purest and the most elaborated film of Andrey Zvyagintsev for today. In his previous works Zvyagintsev was working out two main dimensions. The first dimension is related with a mythological, archetypical and religios symbolism. The second dimension is a social criticism headed against vices of political and social system. In «The Return» and «The Bunisment» the director works with the first aspect. «Elena» and «Leviathan» shift the focus to a social criticism topic. And, finally, «Loveless» combines these aspects into a harmonic unity.
Underneath the narrative about human egoism in the modern world we discover the pattern of a creepy fairytale which resembles Brothers Grimm stories. When characters set off to find their son the world of film turns into a mystic space. The images of city and civilization gradually change into pictures of forest and abandoned houses. Thus Zhenyai and Boris are plunged into their unconscious mind to face the real nature of themselves. And this nature is to be so selfish and scary. Just compare Zvyagintsev's «Loveless» and Lars von Trier's «Antichrist» — both films has an image of a forest where person meets its terrifying but authentic identity. Ultimately the thing Zhenyai and Boris are searching for is not their son but acceptance of who they really are.
So I love this film a lot because it could be seen in a different levels, each one is linked to another.