The director Andrei Zvyagintsev opens the film by a pier where a large diving tower is located.  Some young teenagers are jumping from the tower while Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov), one of the younger kids, does not jump as her fears height.  His friends and his older brother Andrey (Vladimir Garin) leave him on top of the diving tower whimpering in fear while the cold sea breeze brushes his body.  This leads to a situation where some of Ivan’s friends call him a coward, which he denies.  Ivan ends up in fight with his brother, and he runs home to tell his mother while she simply states, “Don’t wake your father.” 

Flabbergasted the two boys look at their mother, when she says that their father (Konstantin Lavronenko) is at home.  These two boys have not seen their father for over a decade, and now he has returned for whatever reason.  The first thing the father has decided to do is to take the two boys on a fishing trip; however, the trip turns out to be something completely different than what the kids had in mind.

Throughout the trip, the father is abusive and rough with Ivan and Andrey.  However, besides this the audience has to follow a trail of suggestive ideas, which leaves the viewer with mere assumptions.  Several reviews have pinpointed this speculative atmosphere in the film that the father in the film generates through his persona, as he never provides a motive to his actions.  Some reviews have suggested that he is a crook out to recover some old loot while others have proposed that the father tries to teach his two sons to become men, as their upbringing has lacked a male role model.  It does not really matter what the audience thinks, as all ideas can be true.  What seems to matter is the father’s inability to communicate with his two sons, as he often leaves them confused, hurt, and withdrawn.

Cleverly, Zvyagintsev uses the mise-en-scene in the film, which helps create the tentative milieu.  The many majestic shots expand the viewer’s mind in several directions, as they provide the audience an opportunity to ponder the insignificance of the character’s identity.  This enhances the ominous tension shaped between the children and the father, which might lead the audience’s mind in a negative and darker direction of the father’s intentions.  The camera filter also plays an important role in producing a negative atmosphere, as it boosts the emotional distance between the father and the boys.

The highly speculative atmosphere that Andrei Zvyagintsev generates through his film suggests the notion of poor communication and highlights the importance of good communication.  Communication is also an essential part of cinema, as cinema is visual storytelling that can use dialogue and other auditory signals to promote a story.  Regardless of the story’s outcome, the audience learns a threefold lesson through the film about the importance of language and communication.  The most obvious lesson is in regards to the boys’ confusion and pain in the story due to the father’s poor communication.  The second lesson that Zvyagintsev teaches the audience is through the viewer’s own assumptions and guesses based on the lack of information.  The final lesson of communication that the film provides is in regards to our short existence on earth, which suggests that one should seize the day when the chance presents itself.  Ultimately, the audience can reflect over the pictures at the end in the film, as these images provide several different ideas.  This is the beauty of art, as it leaves the audience with their own interpretations and thoughts, which maybe could lead to a revelation of some sort helping people with proper communication.

DIRECTED BY

COUNTRY

USA / Australia

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