Andrey Zvyagintsev’s glorious first feature, The Return, received a number of international awards, announcing the arrival of a bright new talent to the Russian cinema. Zvyagintsev’s follow-up, The Banishment, is the mythic tale of a family who moves from the city to the country, where their lives are completely transformed.

In an unnamed time and place, Alex (Konstantin Lavronenko), Vera (Maria Bonnevie) and their young son and daughter settle into the old country house where Alex was born. The ghosts of the past weigh heavily on the ostensibly idyllic domestic scene, however. In this tense atmosphere, Vera tells Alex she is pregnant and that the child is not his; the smouldering patriarch must decide whether he will forgive her or seek vengeance. His desperation leaves no bond untouched. Meanwhile, Alex’s brother Mark (Alexander Baluev) – clearly a malicious force – has no contact with his own wife and children, and his presence casts a dark shadow over Alex’s psyche and the strained household.

Zvyagintsev reunites with many key talents from his breakthrough debut, including lead actor Lavronenko (so memorable as the father in The Return), who was awarded the best acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival for The Banishment; art director Andrey Ponkratov; and cinematographer Mikhail Krichman, who is responsible for the sumptuous, even transcendent lighting and colour in the film. At the mercy of her tortured husband, Vera is the heart of the film, and Bonnevie’s characterization is sublime. Solemn and measured, The Banishment proves that Zvyagintsev is a supreme alchemist of mood and a natural with painterly compositions. His style, with its charge of religious symbolism, is highly evocative of Andrei Tarkovsky. He uses his skills to great effect in rendering the sharp contrast between the barren urban wastelands, capable of masking familial strife, and the lush bounty of the countryside, beautiful yet indifferent to human concerns.

Dimitri Eipides

Andrey Zvyagintsev was born in Novosibirsk, Russia, and lives in Moscow. He graduated from the acting department of the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts and has performed on stage and screen. In 2000, he directed the short films Busido, Obscure and The Choice for the television series Black Room. His widely acclaimed first theatrical feature, The Return (03), won numerous awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. The Banishment (07) is his second feature film.