This review contains SPOILERS for director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s film “Leviathan.” This isn’t a fairytale.
A man lives in a coastal village near the Barents Sea in Northern Russia, running an auto-repair shop from the garage of his childhood home, shared with wife Lilya and his teenage son from a previous marriage.
The family’s world is under threat: The town Mayor, has slapped a compulsory acquisition order on their land, earmarking the site for a development. To the Mayor’s surprise, the husband enlists the help of ex-army friend, now a hotshot lawyer from Moscow. Soon tempers and passions are inflamed, events spiral out of control, and lives are placed at stake.
The film sets up a story you’ve watched or read about many times. Someone has valuable land. A powerful person wants that land at any cost. David versus Goliath.
This is not a film for everyone but one everyone should see this film. You need to be in the right mood to watch it. It is beautifully shot and acted. It moves at the pace of life. There is adult content but it’s shot and edited in a way that isn’t exploitative. It’s all very matter of fact and real.
People try to do what’s right. People make bad choices. Trusts are broken. Friendships and families crumble. The justice system isn’t justice. Power prevails.
The world continues to spin.
The marketing for the film talks about how it portrays a new corrupt Russia. Oh marketing. This story happens all the time all over the world. Hardly limited to Russia.
It’s a story happening right now and we will never hear about it.
It’s a masterpiece of filmmaking. It stays with you and leaves you thinking.
Open Life Up 