Otets i syn (2003)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Aleksandr Sokurov

Writer:

Sergei Potepalov (writer)

Release Date:

21 January 2004 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Whisper your fears to running water . . .

Plot:

Father (Andrej Shetinin) and Son (Alexei Nejmyshev) live together in a rooftop apartment. They have lived alone for years in their own private world...

Plot Keywords:

Father Son Relationship | Incest Overtones | Gay Interest | Homoeroticism

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Andrei Shchetinin	...	Father
Aleksei Nejmyshev	...	Aleksei, the Son
Aleksandr Razbash	...	Sasha
Fyodor Lavrov	...	Fyodor
Marina Zasukhina	...	Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna Aleksakhina
Jaime Freitas
João Gonçalves

Directed by
Aleksandr Sokurov

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sergei Potepalov		writer

Produced by
Fernando Centeio	....	line producer
Roberto Cicutto	....	co-producer
Igor Kalenov	....	co-producer
Igor Kalyonov	....	producer
Thomas Kufus	....	producer
Luigi Musini	....	co-producer
Hengameh Panahi	....	co-producer
Claudia Spiller	....	line producer
Els Vandevorst	....	co-producer
Ineke van Wierst	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Aleksandr Burov

Production Design by
Natalya Kochergina

Production Management
Conny Neetenbeek	....	post-production manager
Joana Synek	....	production manager

Sound Department
Sergei Moshkov	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Paulo Jorge Barata	....	second assistant camera
Rolf Rosendahl	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Jaime Freitas	....	production assistant
Susana Marques	....	production assistant

Thanks
Andrey Deryabin	....	special thanks
Michael Schmid-Ospach	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Isabella Films B.V.
• Lumen Films
• Mikado Film
• Nikola Film
• Zero Film GmbH

Distributors

• Filmmuseum Distributie (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Seagull Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (Argentina)
• Atalanta Filmes
• Gémini Films (France)
• Moskwood Media (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Prodimag (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Wellspring Media (2004) (USA) (subtitled)
• good movies! (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Отец и сын (Russia)
Father and Son (International: English title)
Vater und Sohn (Germany)

Runtime:

France:83 min (Cannes Film Festival) | Russia:97 min | USA:82 min (Wellspring DVD)

Country:

Russia | Germany | Italy | Netherlands

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Italy:T | Singapore:R(A) | Australia:PG | Netherlands:AL | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Lisbon, Portugal

Company:

Isabella Films B.V.

Movie Connections:

Follows Mat i syn (1997)

For art-house viewers only - but intriguing and rather beautiful despite its slow pace

The second film in the trilogy director Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) began with Mother and Son (1996) focuses on the obsessive, intimate love between a youthful father and his teenage son. They play sport and tousle together, confide in and are everything to each other – but now the son is close to adulthood, it's time to separate.

Apparently Sokurov intended to show that the ambivalence of their lover-like relationship is due to the father's unresolved feelings for his dead wife, but the film is not entirely successful in communicating that. Their closeness inspires jealousy in the son's girlfriend, a neighbour and a visitor, yet the homo eroticism in Father and Son is not just between them, but in the way the camera views other men, particularly soldiers. Although this allegedly unintentional subtext could offend, it does not, due to the hyper-real, mythic tone. The slow pace of the film is offset by a pervasive, abstract sensuality, emphasised by Alexander Burov's beautiful cinematography. Whispering kettles and dripping taps form an industrial ambiance that helps to slow time down and frame the background – a dark quiet house that is as insular as this familial relationship.

Although Father and Son will frustrate those seeking a more plot-driven film, it is memorable. The indefinable closeness between the two men is never threatening. It merely emphasises the similarity between what philosopher CS Lewis described as the Four Loves – storage (familial love), love between friends (philia), eros (sexual love) and agape (spiritual love).

***/***** stars.