The year is 2012. Forewarnings, predicted by the Mayan calendar, of an impending apocalypse plague the radio stations of Russia. Listeners commuting to and from work subliminally digesting words of societal annihilation from harbingers. The inevitable collapse of civilisation. Russia's bureaucratic bodies preoccupied with the administrative tasks that the Putin regime prioritise for them. The bigger picture. The federation. Consequently, menial crimes and cases are neglected by policing forces, who are immersed in concealing anarchy. A pivotal hurdle for two separated parents in the midst of a bitter divorce, brought back together temporarily to find their missing son.
Policing entities are unconcerned. A perspective that Zvyagintsev provides skeptically for viewers to make judgement on, enabling him to shine an angelic light upon the search-and-rescue volunteer group. Nonprofit entities bypassing an oppressive state for the betterment of families, offering a stark contrast against the ineffectual police. Therefore, at its core, a familial drama. A narrative structure that Zvyagintsev's direction is most comfortable in portraying.
Loveless may conceive political undertones, less expressive than that in 'Leviathan', yet predominantly provided insight into the theme of lovelessness. Anti-love. The state in which one simply cannot live. Zhenya and Boris resent each other. Loathe the very space they share together. Two humanised individuals with the emotional capacity of vacuous narcissistic monsters. Representations of societal souls tainted by self-absorption and media corruption. Alyosha, their young teenage son, remains trapped in the middle of two parents who neglect him. Unwanted. Zhenya, enamoured by social media, yearns for his "father" to nurture him. Likewise Boris would rather opt for his "mother" to tend to his needs.
Through argumentative domestic confrontations, the central theme of parental neglect seeps through the cracks. Alyosha silently crying, coming to terms that he is unacknowledged. Abandoned by life, he disappears. Zvyagintsev painfully paints his masterpiece with bleak shades of darkened white snow. Again, the characters are directed from a neutral standpoint. Whilst the fatal flaws of both parents are more forthcoming than his previous features, judgement is exhumed from the viewer. Criminally neglectful? Or just distracted by the world around them?
The situational plot forces these characters to coexist and confront the relational life they once lived. Together. As a family. Zhenya visiting her mother only to reveal a hereditary source of bitterness. Boris coldly challenging the new family he has created in an attempt to reignite love. The search for Alyosha deepening an abyss of vacuity between them. Familial nihilism. Zvyagintsev bravely portrayed these characters as unlikeable, naturally forming our attachment to the absent son, and it worked beautifully. The purpose of Loveless is not to form an emotional attachment to these individuals, but to observe a drama rooted in abandonment from society itself.
Zvyagintsev's prolonged shots of weathered landscapes exemplify a bleak existential aura enveloping the case. Collapsed foliage in the oppressive environment signifying the diminishment of hope. Harsh snowfall threatening the search adjacent to an unwelcoming abandoned building. The persistent naturalism of Loveless created a dense eerie fog of depression, captured exquisitely by Krichman, a metaphorical weather that Zvyagintsev is well-known for producing.
Spivak and Rozin's despondent performances highlighting the lack of urgency that these parents embodied. Mellow throughout, forever regarding themselves and not their son. The Galperine's stringed score eternally lowering the suburban mood, diminishing hope as the feature progresses. Culminating a relentless search into an ambiguous test for love.
Love is existence. We cannot fully exist without its alluring power. To be loveless, is to be hollow. A shell of humanity. Zvyagintsev took every aspect of his previous works of art and orchestrated them into a symphony of poignant melancholia. Loveless though, is his masterpiece. And I have no qualms whatsoever in bestowing Loveless a perfect rating.
Policing entities are unconcerned. A perspective that Zvyagintsev provides skeptically for viewers to make judgement on, enabling him to shine an angelic light upon the search-and-rescue volunteer group. Nonprofit entities bypassing an oppressive state for the betterment of families, offering a stark contrast against the ineffectual police. Therefore, at its core, a familial drama. A narrative structure that Zvyagintsev's direction is most comfortable in portraying.
Loveless may conceive political undertones, less expressive than that in 'Leviathan', yet predominantly provided insight into the theme of lovelessness. Anti-love. The state in which one simply cannot live. Zhenya and Boris resent each other. Loathe the very space they share together. Two humanised individuals with the emotional capacity of vacuous narcissistic monsters. Representations of societal souls tainted by self-absorption and media corruption. Alyosha, their young teenage son, remains trapped in the middle of two parents who neglect him. Unwanted. Zhenya, enamoured by social media, yearns for his "father" to nurture him. Likewise Boris would rather opt for his "mother" to tend to his needs.
Through argumentative domestic confrontations, the central theme of parental neglect seeps through the cracks. Alyosha silently crying, coming to terms that he is unacknowledged. Abandoned by life, he disappears. Zvyagintsev painfully paints his masterpiece with bleak shades of darkened white snow. Again, the characters are directed from a neutral standpoint. Whilst the fatal flaws of both parents are more forthcoming than his previous features, judgement is exhumed from the viewer. Criminally neglectful? Or just distracted by the world around them?
The situational plot forces these characters to coexist and confront the relational life they once lived. Together. As a family. Zhenya visiting her mother only to reveal a hereditary source of bitterness. Boris coldly challenging the new family he has created in an attempt to reignite love. The search for Alyosha deepening an abyss of vacuity between them. Familial nihilism. Zvyagintsev bravely portrayed these characters as unlikeable, naturally forming our attachment to the absent son, and it worked beautifully. The purpose of Loveless is not to form an emotional attachment to these individuals, but to observe a drama rooted in abandonment from society itself.
Zvyagintsev's prolonged shots of weathered landscapes exemplify a bleak existential aura enveloping the case. Collapsed foliage in the oppressive environment signifying the diminishment of hope. Harsh snowfall threatening the search adjacent to an unwelcoming abandoned building. The persistent naturalism of Loveless created a dense eerie fog of depression, captured exquisitely by Krichman, a metaphorical weather that Zvyagintsev is well-known for producing.
Spivak and Rozin's despondent performances highlighting the lack of urgency that these parents embodied. Mellow throughout, forever regarding themselves and not their son. The Galperine's stringed score eternally lowering the suburban mood, diminishing hope as the feature progresses. Culminating a relentless search into an ambiguous test for love.
Love is existence. We cannot fully exist without its alluring power. To be loveless, is to be hollow. A shell of humanity. Zvyagintsev took every aspect of his previous works of art and orchestrated them into a symphony of poignant melancholia. Loveless though, is his masterpiece. And I have no qualms whatsoever in bestowing Loveless a perfect rating.