Father and Son (2003)
"Otets i syn" (original title)

Father (Andrej Shetinin) and Son (Alexei Nejmyshev) live together in a rooftop apartment. They have lived alone for years in their own private world, full of memories and daily rituals. ... See full summary »

Director:

Aleksandr Sokurov

Writer:

Sergei Potepalov

Stars:

Andrei Shchetinin, Aleksei Neymyshev, Aleksandr Razbash

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Andrei Shchetinin	...	Father
Aleksei Neymyshev	...	Aleksei, the Son
Aleksandr Razbash	...	Sasha
Fyodor Lavrov	...	Fyodor
Marina Zasukhina	...	Girl
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna Aleksakhina
Jaime Freitas
João Gonçalves
Svetlana Svirko

Storyline

Father (Andrej Shetinin) and Son (Alexei Nejmyshev) live together in a rooftop apartment. They have lived alone for years in their own private world, full of memories and daily rituals. Sometimes they seem like brothers. Sometimes even like lovers. Following in his father's footsteps, Alexei attends military school. He likes sports, tends to be irresponsible and has problems with his girlfriend. She is jealous of Alexei's close relationship with his father. Despite knowing that all sons must one day live their own lives, Alexei is conflicted. Alexei's father knows he should maybe accept a better job in another city, maybe search for a new wife. But who will ease the pain of Alexei's nightmares?

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Plot Keywords:

nightmare | memory | rooftop | ritual | pain | 

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Taglines:

Whisper your fears to running water . . .

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Russia Germany Italy Netherlands

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

12 September 2003 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Padre e hijo

Filming Locations:

Lisbon, Portugal

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,541 (USA) (18 June 2004)

Gross:

$38,150 (USA) (24 September 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nikola Film, Isabella Films B.V., Lumen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 83 min 82 min (Wellspring DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows Mother and Son (1997)

User Reviews

A Film of Great Beauty on Perhaps the Most Important Current Topic

This is an extraordinary film that explores an area still barely touched by artists and other, academic psychologists: the father-son bond, its complexity, ambivalence, pathos, and depth. All are illuminated by the director, Alexander Sokurov. The text is spare; the cinematography is heartbreakingly beautiful. (I have not seen a man's face explored as intimately on screen since Olivier Martinez was filmed in THE CHAMBERMAID ON THE TITANIC.) Every man who has had a father must see this film. It speaks of what Nicole Oxenhandler calls the eros of parenthood but now at the level of the male's late adolescence. Sokurov understands the tension between love and rivalry that is at the core of the son-father relationship. Like the relationship itself, the audio is quiet, with the occasional outburst. Sokurov confirms that a young man learns how to love (women, other men, eventually his own sons and daughters) by loving his father, in early boyhood (which we only have hints about in the film) and then again at the time when son and father must separate. Fathers, take you son to see this film.