Izgnanie (The Banishment) - Andrey Zvyagintsev

in italiano, se fosse mai passato in sala, si sarebbe potuto chiamare "L'esilio".
si tratta del secondo film di Andrey Zvyagintsev e, come "Il ritorno", è un film misterioso.
è girato fra Belgio, Francia e Moldavia, nel film non esistono luoghi riconoscibili, non ha tempo e allo stesso tempo universale.
non si sa niente di quello che è successo prima, si può ipotizzare che l'esilio sia dovuto all'esigenza di "cambiare aria".
non succede molto, e però ci sono storie che non riesci ad abbandonare.
il punto chiave è quello che succede a Vera, mistero nel mistero, e quello che lei dice. 
non adatto a chi ha fretta e a chi non ha tempo di ragionare.
per gli occhi è una gioia, una perfezione formale rara e accurata, come solo i grandi registi sanno e sanno fare.
cercatelo, potrebbe piacervi molto - Ismaele

…The Banishmentis a slow film, one that demands patience, consideration, and your time. If you can’t meet these demands, the film won’t meet yours.

da qui

…With so much drama at its heart, The Banishment is at times a painfully slow film. It's par for the course for great Russian fiction but will nevertheless frustrate some Western viewers. What saves it during these stretches is magnificent technical work. It's lovingly shot in deceptively muted shades, the colours one scarcely sees like the fragments of other people's souls which we overlook when we perceive them only in relevance to our own lives. Its sound design is the best I've encountered for years and brings the whole thing to life in a very visceral way, really creating the sensation of being there. This is sound and vision crafted not simply for the sake of beauty (though it certainly works on that level), but for the solid contribution it can make to this deceptively complex moral fable…

da qui

…The Banishment sound like a conventional dramatic thriller – and in many respects it is – but the difference is in the way that Zvyagintsev approaches the film and depicts it on the screen, and there it’s anything but conventional. Despite the initially slow pace, the economy of words spoken and the suppression of deep emotions, the significance of these two key moments and how they drive the subsequent events is fully explored and expressed in other ways, in the weather, the rain, the heat and the dust, but most notably in the desolation of the countryside, where the house that once belonged to Alex and Mark’s father sits perched on the edge of a ravine…

da qui

…The Banishment may initially require more patience than its predecessor, but the character detail, the imagery, the subtle performances and the precise use of sound all texture even the smallest moments. Every element is given new meaning by the direction the film takes in its final hour, culminating in a multi-layered reverse of the opening car journey and a final shot that literally sings to the strength and suffering of women. It's a boldly confident ending to a haunting, impeccably handled second feature, and one that should have all eyes on just what Zvyagintsev will do for an encore.

da qui

…Zvyagintsev creates a dreary mood piece, sustained with tension and a deeply burdening excavation of secrets and silence. There’s an exploration of miscommunication here, not lies. The unspoken becomes just as virulent as falsities; the emotional estrangement between people becomes a source of dehumanising decay. The story of family is timeless in its essence, but intermittent, it’s intrinsic morality however, is everything…

da qui