The spiritual and moral rot permeating modern Russian society lies at the heart of director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s somber Oscar-nominated film. On the surface, Loveless is a procedural mystery about the disappearance of a child, but on a deeper level it reflects the narcissistic emptiness at the center of so many lives, including those of the missing boy’s parents, Boris (Alexey Rozin) and Zhenya (Maryana Spivak). A middle-class Moscow couple, they are working out the details of their divorce in a far from amicable process: the pair no longer talk to one another so much as string together insults, and both have already found new lovers. Their discord devastates 12-year-old son Alyosha (Matvey Novikov), whom neither parent wants custody of. But when the boy disappears and the police shrug it off, the couple contact a volunteer agency for assistance. The remainder of Loveless follows the search through forests and abandoned buildings, as well as the distant, isolated home of Zhenya’s widowed mother (Natalya Potapova), who proves to be venomously unconcerned about what might have happened to her grandson. A lacerating portrait of a country in decline, made with an uncompromising vision, this is a brilliant piece of filmmaking. Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. [Note: Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” documentary (61 min.). Bottom line: a fine extras package for this Oscar-nominated foreign drama.] (F. Swietek)
Loveless
Sony, 127 min., in Russian w/English subtitles, R, Blu-ray: $30.99, June 12 Volume 33, Issue 4
Loveless
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