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Terfex.com - The Return
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List Price: $29.95
Our Price: $24.99
Your Save: $ 4.96 ( 17% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Kino International
Starring: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Natalya Vdovina, Yelizaveta Aleksandrova
Directed By: Andrei Zvyagintsev
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0738329035129
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: Kino International
Manufacturer: Kino International
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Kino International
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2004-10-19
Running Time: 105
Studio: Kino International
Theatrical Release Date: 2003
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Editorial Reviews:
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Studio: Kino International Release Date: 10/19/2004 Run time: 106 minutes
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: one of the best films I've seen in a while
Comment: After the first minute all doubts are gone. What you have here is a real film. Scene by scene.
The subject matter is fatherhood, or lack of. Trying desperately to find out what it is when you ain't had it. The kids are wondering. The adults too. And in steps the humanity of the project, whispering through your heart and tickling your intellect. If you find it all ambiguous that's because we are ambiguous. There is no straight forward answer.
And, afterwards, if you want confirmation of the film's worth, simply watch the 'making of': a cast of dedicated professionals risking and working passionately at their craft.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A CLASSIC GHOST STORY
Comment: Before we can understnad the underlying themes in this film we have to provide our own answers to a few questions.
1. Why was the father gone for 12 years?
2. How did he know about the buried box on the island? Had he buried it, or did he have a map? What was in the box?
3. How did the boat, at film's end, instantly float, against wave action, 100 yards offshore.
4. How did the boat instantly sink, even though the boys had just rowed it across the vast lake?
5. Why, when Ivan looked at the family picture in the car, had the image of the father disappeared?
I believe that this is a classic ghost story that goes something like this:
The father robbed a bank, and his identity was discovered. He fled to the isolated island that he already knew about, and buried the money underneath the house. For 12 years he stayed there until he died of starvation.
Even though he died, he could not continue into the afterlife. He found that he was held back by unresolved issues concerning his wife, his sons, and the money. He returned to his home, where he was able to re-materialize because of his association with the living. Do you remember what the reaction was, of his wife, on the one night he spent with her? Something Isn't Quite Right.
The ghost believes he still has affection for his sons, which is why he takes them on the fishing trip. Although he shows intermittant affection, most of the time he seems burdened by their presence. They camp at the first fishing spot after he buys the outboard motor that came in on the fishing boat. Without that motor they cannot get to the isolated island.
On the island he digs up the can full of money from the old house, and clandestinly hides it in the boat. Because of his fall from the tower, the father is able to mimmic his death. There is no loss of blood or broken bones, only the declaration by the elder son that he is dead. On the long return trip to the car park, the father decides that he does not care about his wife or sons, only the money. The boys, after a mammoth attempt to drag the boat on shore, manage to get the camping gear to the car. Then they discover that the boat has floated a 100 yards off shore, and instantly sinks. The father has gone to his grave with the only thing he cared about....the money.
When Ivan looks at the family picture, the father image is no longer there because he has now passed into the afterlife. The End.
Customer Rating:
Summary: entertaining movie
Comment: First Movie I have seen from Russia since "Ivan" by Andrei Tarkovsky.This movie is along the same lines in regards to the suspense it creates for the ending. Some flat spots but the relationship between Father and Son's is most important. Just never figured out what the Father did for living?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Haunting and Daunting Film
Comment: Two boys who haven't seen their father in 12 years suddenly get the surprise of their lives when their dream of dad comes true and he appears. The second day of his arrival he takes the boys on a 3 day "fishing trip" where he treats them brutally and it is difficult to tell what is really going on. The boys see dad do some mysterious things visiting people on boats and taking unknown goods off them but what are they supposed to understand? The trip becomes more and more brutal and while the kids seem to be looking for a father and affection, the man seems to be treating them like commodities. How do they get away from this terrible man and get help? A very scary story of a dream that turns into a nightmare.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Confused
Comment: First I want to say that I never write reviews, but this film left me with so many questions I felt compelled to hit the internet for answers which led me to amazon and thusly customer reviews.
I had to watch this film for my Russian 410 class (film study) and I have to agree with other who posted that the youngest boy in this film can act! You really get caught up in his emotions.
That being said, I really don't see the magic in this film. Other than the kid and the really cool scenery this movie has no point. The dad shows up without warning like'a phantom and takes his two sons, who he hasn't seen in 12 years, on a three day vacation after being back home only one night; crazy I know. On top of that there is no explanation as to why any of this is happening.
So they fish, they camp, and oh yeah the dad dies. Simply put: NO point, No plot development.
Now these two kids are out in the middle of no where with their stranger-father's dead body which they drag back to a small boat, land, and as they take their bags to the car, the boat sinks and the body is gone. Sorry to spoil the story, but unless you just really dig Russian films (I've been watching them all semester and have yet to find one that explains anything clearly) then I would not recommend this flick to anyone.
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