The FiFi Report 047

The Return:
If you are scared of foreign language films then this one is perfect for you. Sure it’s in Russian but who cares if you can’t be bothered reading the subtitles. This movie is so exquisitely shot, you can just watch the photography and still lap up every minute. Spare, austere, and haunting, we decided it could be called John Pawson, The movie. And it is riveting. Riveting because it’s a thriller and riveting because it is jaw droppingly beautiful. Yes, so beautiful my arm was aching from the art director next to me elbowing me every time an amazing shot came up. Which was every frame. But it’s not precious or pretentious or so arty you start dozing off. That’s why it’s fantastic. Winner of the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival it is about a father who returns mysteriously after 12 years and takes his two sons off on a fishing trip and they wind up on an (absolutely stunning) deserted Island. The father is pretty mean and ‘spectacularly ill equipped’ to look after the boys and the boys are both dazzled and dismayed by their father. The L.A Daily news says ” It’s eerie, deeply unsettling and absolutely, psychologically real. Marked by tragedy itself, the movie’s young star, Vladimir Garin, drowned in the same lake by which much of “The Return’s” action is set” Too sad. But we loved it so much we even stayed to read the credits, all written in gobbledygook Russian.