December 31, 2011

Banishment

This Russian film is painfully slow at points at the first third, and appears rather random in the subsequent depiction of the family lives in the countryside. At points I almost wanted to turn it off. But my patience was rewarded rather handsomely by the twist of event which, although cannot justify its structure, satisfies my desire to learn more about contemporary Russian cinema.

The painful revelation of the wife to a friend on how her relationship with her husband has suffered due to his 'liking them for his own sake' and ceasing talking to her made me wonder if, like Zhang Yimou's early works is a allegory film. But the film ended too abruptly (especially given its long opening) to confirm this.

Nevertheless, it is a good watch, although, like many critics have commented, it can do with a much better editing.

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