More on the return....

Got this from a leaflet about the movie....

"Tension comes to a head after the three arrive, via a hastily patched boat, at an island destination. The father clearly has an agenda that has nothing to do with the boys; he's searching for something from his past. Violence and tragedy strike, and through it all, something happens almost imperceptibly: The two boys become men, their gazes hardening like iced-over snow.

The story is simple, but the detail is rich (and would surely reward a second viewing): the Christ-like pose of the father as the sons first see him, lying on a bed in their home; the blurry underwater footage that opens and closes the film; the desperation of a fish flapping in a plastic bag; the montage of family photographs; primarily showing the wo boys looking terribly lost; the sad little crackle of the mother's cigarette as she smokes, a beauty hemmed into a gray, cheerless world. And it's set in a world with a harsh beauty: The boys, who live in a home so spare it looks like a stage set (their lovely, sad mother is the only adornment), travel with their father to icq-gray beaches with horizons that extend forever, rimmed with heavy clouds and dark forest.

"The Return" is a rare movie that doesn't loudly spell out its message for the benefit of its audience; it respects its viewers enough to let them draw their own conclusions. The performances are vivid and scraped-bare, particularly the wo children. As Ivan, Dobronravov has a flinty fierceness to himl Garin's Vanya, with his big eyes and nubby adolescent face, is softer and more heartbreaking. (It's almost unbearable to learn that Garin died tragically in a boating accident, just months after this film was completed.) Through these actors, Zvyagintsev has created an unforgettable father-son portrait -- a noble tragedy, told through a child's haunted eyes."

i dunno.. but i really liked the film... liked it enough to watch it twice.