Roads to Koktebel

First time Russian filmmakers Boris Khlebnikov and Alexei Popogrebsky co-directed and co-wrote this slow-moving but ultimately hard-hitting drama about a long and perilous journey by a father and his 12-year-old son from Moscow to the Crimean town of Koktebel. Hopping empty boxcars and walking seemingly endless miles, father and son do not appear to share a strong bond (the father's fondness for drinking only makes matters worse), nor is the reason for the trip immediately apparent, but as Roads to Koktebel unfolds, their harrowing story is slowly detailed. Along their route are large and small crises: the father briefly leaves the boxcar when it stops and nearly fails to get back on board when it abruptly takes off, a farmer offers them shelter in exchange for repairing a roof but then turns violent amid charges of theft, and a woman doctor's attentions toward the father nearly ends the journey. Not unlike the celebrated works of Russian filmmakers such as Andrei Tarkovsky and Aleksandr Sokurov, Khlebnikov and Popogrebsky's film boasts a rich visual texture and deliberate pacing that will ultimately reward those who are patient. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)