Released last week, at the same time Christopher Nolan almost set up the standard for modern blockbusters with Interstellar, Russian helmer Andrey Zvyagintsev is arguably doing the same for the arthouse film with Leviathan, an ambitious tale about the impossible battle of honest man versus corrupt state, boasting a lacerating view of contemporary Russia; imbued with symbolism; laced with dark humour and drowned in vodka.
Kolya, a prosperous, self-made handyman is fighting his town’s government against an order that threatens the very basics of his livelihood, forcing him to sell at a much lesser price than market value the land where his home and work place is built; its privileged position overlooking the Barents Sea making it ideal for speculation. To guide him on his trials and the complexities of the legal system, Dmitry, an old friend from the army turned successful Moscow lawyer arrives.
After exhausting the legal way, the trial comically represented as a farce, he resorts to blackmail the town’s major with proof of some past wrongdoing which could destroy his political career right on time of elections. From this point onwards Leviathan becomes a downward spiral, reminiscent to Dante’s Divine Comedy’s with every step taking Kolya’s dignity to a lower level of loss and degradation that reaches every existing social institution, from the Orthodox Church and its allegiance with the ruling classes to his own family and friends.
A dense and thought-provoking portrait of the state as a frightening, invincible and rotten monster, whose ideas are rooted in both the Bible’s Book of Job allegory and the theories of Hobbes’ Social contract, Leviathan confidently conveys Russia’s literary tradition of big moral subjects, adding visuals to match in awe inspiring fashion; the mesmerizing image of a giant whale’s skeleton stranded in the shore will likely become one of the cinematic memories of the year.
Zvyagintsev fourth film has been piling up the accolades since he was launched at Cannes official competition, where it won the prize for its screenplay. The London Film Festival also rewarded it with its top honour and it was the surprising submission by its country to the Foreign Language Academy awards, for which is tipped as one of the strongest contenders. All of them, hugely deserved rewards for one of the most accomplished works cinema has offered in recent memory. ★★★★★
