Izgnanie (2007)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 157 minuten
Alternative titles: The Banishment / Изгнание
Country:
Russia
Directed by: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Stars: Konstantin Lavronenko and Maria Bonnevie
IMDb score:
7,5 (9.529)
Releasedate: 27 March 2008
Izgnanie plot
"If you want to kill, kill. If you want to forgive, forgive."
A man moves from a big city to the countryside with his wife and two children, where they take up residence in his father's remote and abandoned house. Soon after arriving, his wife reveals that she is pregnant, but that the child is not his.
Reviews & comments
Spetie
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- 38871 messages
- 8246 votes
Good film, which unfortunately weakens a bit in the last hour.
This film by Zvyagintsev does a lot of good, especially the first part of the film is very strong. The cinematography of the film is very good from the first scene. Now the landscape where the film takes place also lends itself to this, but Zvyagintsev manages to capture the landscape and the environment in the most beautiful way possible. At times it was really enjoyable in that area. In terms of detail, it looked excellent.
Story wise, the first part is also very interesting. Konstantin Lavronenko is a fine actor and plays quite a complex character here. The rest of the cast is also doing well. However, it sometimes remains a bit superficial in that area. Partly because of that, I had trouble getting to really connect with the characters. In the final hour, the story gets a bit more complex and dramatic. The punch line, where it turns out that the child is his after all, is somewhat disappointing and difficult for me to understand. In any case, I didn't think it really made sense.
Too bad, because the first half of the movie was really strong. Visually at times stunningly beautiful, supported by a strong, almost intoxicating soundtrack. The second half including the ending is less, but nevertheless this is an above average film.
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
cucciolo
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- 491 messages
- 1101 votes
Pure beauty from start to finish, every shot is a painting. It is not for nothing that this director is compared with Tarkovsky.
But then .. so magically filmed and then such a weak story .. that inevitably comes into conflict with each other.
Ok, I can add that Vera didn't mean it literally that it wasn't his child, since she meant that in a symbolic way for her. But come on, you'll never come off the thread, even agree to an abortion. That's pretty unbelievable to say the least.
In short, it's a shame that the script was pretty shabby, and as far as I'm concerned, every film of his has been, except his last film, which I haven't seen yet. He suggests a very exciting story with an unprecedented denouement or clue, which in the end never comes.
That is why this film also has to rely on the exceptionally beautiful images, which, to be honest, were breathtakingly beautiful and the acting was also phenomenal.
As much as I would have liked to give at least 4 stars for this film, I have to be honest, and all things considered, I end up with 3.75*, which I round down.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
The banishment bears many similarities to Andrey Zvyagintsev's first film, The Return. Here too, the desolate Russian flora comes into its own. You also have the patent on complex family relationships and the big unknown factor that you carry with you throughout the film. In The return you have no idea who the father is and also in this The banishment you have to guess who and why. It is precisely this ignorance that is the strength of these films. The emphasis thus lies on the interaction between the protagonists, even if it is quite distant and cold.
Here, too, Andrey Zvyagintsev takes plenty of time to put together his scenes. That's why the film comes across as rather sluggish. I think I have read that there was also filming in Belgium, namely Liège. A Belgian train does indeed pass there and the traffic signs also looked quite familiar to me. Finally, I saw Cockerill-Sambre looming next to the banks of the Meuse.
In the meantime, it has become my 4th film by Andrei Zvjagintsev in a very short time. Although in Elena and especially Leviathan evolves towards a better finish of a substantive story, I have the feeling of an unfinished product with The return and The banishment. The premise of the story is strong, the acting, camera angles and decor are fine, but the story itself leads nowhere and fades out. Not a bad movie, certainly not, but it had a lot more potential. 3.5* for the more than solid framework!
Translated from Dutch · View original
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