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IMDbPro

Elena

  • 20112011
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
22,129
148
Elena (2011)
When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife ElenaÂ’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan ...
Play trailer1:42
1 Video
36 Photos
CrimeDramaThriller
When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife Elena's potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan ...When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife Elena's potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan ...When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten dutiful housewife Elena's potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan ...
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
22,129
148
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Andrey Zvyagintsev
    • Writers
      • Oleg Negin
      • Andrey Zvyagintsev
    • Stars
      • Nadezhda Markina
      • Andrey Smirnov
      • Aleksey Rozin
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Andrey Zvyagintsev
    • Writers
      • Oleg Negin
      • Andrey Zvyagintsev
    • Stars
      • Nadezhda Markina
      • Andrey Smirnov
      • Aleksey Rozin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 68User reviews
    • 134Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
    • Awards
      • 24 wins & 22 nominations

    Videos1

    U.S. Version
    Trailer 1:42
    U.S. Version

    Photos36

    Elena Lyadova in Elena (2011)
    Nadezhda Markina in Elena (2011)
    Andrey Zvyagintsev in Elena (2011)
    Andrey Zvyagintsev in Elena (2011)
    Nadezhda Markina in Elena (2011)
    Nadezhda Markina and Andrey Smirnov in Elena (2011)
    Nadezhda Markina in Elena (2011)
    Nadezhda Markina in Elena (2011)
    Elena (2011)
    Elena (2011)
    Nadezhda Markina, Aleksey Rozin, and Evgeniya Konushkina in Elena (2011)
    Elena Lyadova in Elena (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nadezhda Markina
    Nadezhda Markina
    • Elena
    Andrey Smirnov
    Andrey Smirnov
    • Vladimir
    Aleksey Rozin
    Aleksey Rozin
    • Sergey
    Elena Lyadova
    Elena Lyadova
    • Katerina
    Evgeniya Konushkina
    • Tatyana
    Igor Ogurtsov
    • Sasha
    Vasiliy Michkov
    • Lawyer
    • (as Vasily Michkov)
    Aleksey Maslodudov
    • Vitek
    Ekaterina Tarkovskaya
    Ivan Mulin
    Ivan Mulin
    Nikita Slepchenkov
    Yuriy Borisov
    Yuriy Borisov
    Igor Yurtaev
    Yaroslav Zhalnin
    Vasily Prokopyev
    Dmitry Pavlenko
    Aleksandr Pasechny
    Anastasiya Sapozhnikova
    • Director
      • Andrey Zvyagintsev
    • Writers
      • Oleg Negin
      • Andrey Zvyagintsev
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Elena

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film was originally planned to be made in English under the name "Helen", with Elena, Vladimir and Sergey called Helen, Richard and Dan, respectively. Andrey Zvyagintsev dropped the idea when he realized working with an English producer meant "overcoming the issues of the creative method, of the language of cinema." Soon he proposed the script to Oleksandr Yukhymovych Rodnyanskyy and the next day after Rodnyansky read it, he phoned Zvyagintsev and said, "Let's start." Zvyagintsev thanked Rodnyansky in a later interview for sharing his views.
    • Quotes

      Katerina: Shit's gotta be tasty, because millions of flies can't be wrong.

    • Connections
      Featured in Eshenepozner: Vitaly Mansky (2020)
    • Soundtracks
      Symphony No. 3: Movement No. III
      Written by Philip Glass

      Performed by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martin Alsop (as Marin Alsop)

      Courtesy of NAXOS RIGHTS INTERNATIONAL Ltd.

      © DUNVAGEN MUSIC PUBLISHERS Inc.

    User reviews68

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    One of the finest social-realism dramas of the year. An understated beauty of Russian cinema!
    We're soon approaching the end of 2012. What a fabulous year for films, ey? Whilst I'm holding off completing my 'Top Movies of 2012′ until Christmas time, I'm rapidly trying to cram in all of those movies I've been desperate to see this year but, for some silly reason or another, have failed to get around to. Elena is such a film. The third feature from Russian modern master Andrey Zvyagintsev (The Return, The Banishment), it's a frosty, portentous, and oddly beautiful depiction of conflict between contemporary Moscow's bourgeoisie and the humble underclass.

    Nadezhda Markina plays the title character Elena, a sixty-something, former state nurse turned docile housewife to the wealthy Russian aristocrat Vladimir (Andrey Smirnov). They met late in life when Elena was once caring for Vladimir in a hospital bed, and started up an unlikely kinship. Whether it was a bond formed out of compromise or compassion is unsure, but now, ten years on, their stale, loveless marriage is nothing more than a formality.

    Elena spends her days travelling by tram, train and bus to to visit her unemployed son from a previous marriage, Sergei (Andrei Smirnov). Living in the Projects and overlooking a disused power plant from the old communist days, he depends on his mother to support his family, and gets supplements from her pension money, and sly payments from Vladimir's estate.

    Vladimir's relationship with his daughter Katya is initially far more hostile, but just as parasitic. Begrudgingly labelling her as a hedonist, the concerned father has cut off any contact with Katya, happy to transfer monthly payments into her bank account, but not willing to start up a paternal bond. After a heart attack puts Vladimir in hospital, Elena hatches a despicable plan to give her grandson enough money to put him through university; a prevention from the harsh life in the Russian underclass.

    With deliberately slow pacing, long takes and a muted, quasi-apocalyptic colour palette, when it featured at Cannes this year, comparisons with prodigious Russian auteur were aplenty. But aside from these niggling aspects, Zvyagintsev is working within his own social-realism vein; taking the conventions of melodrama and reconfiguring them into an abstemious framework. He manages to present a quintessentially Russian cultural divide, but make it universally engaging and cinematic through some incredible performers across the board. Markina is astonishing in the lead. A taciturn character, she uses expression and lost glances to perfectly encapsulate the neglected wife-turned-carer, who is on the brink of depression and mania.

    The finest moment of the entire movie doesn't even include our leading lady. Sitting in a private hospital bed, Vladimir's first and only encounter with daughter Katya is unnerving yet deeply poignant. Making up for lost time, they share awkward, short exchanges at first, before the emotions soon come flooding to the surface and the pair are sharing smiles and tears of joy, unbeknownst to them, for the last time.

    The glacial cinematography from Mikhail Krichman, along with a pitch-perfect score from New York's Philip Glass, make Elena a film of remarkable, modest beauty. Give it a few years to mature, and we'll soon be heralding it as a modern masterpiece of some new European cinema movement. What movement? That's up for talented director Andrey Zvyagintsev to decide.

    Read more reviews at http://www.366movies.com
    helpful•10
    4
    • octopusluke
    • Dec 3, 2012

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 29, 2011 (Russia)
    • Country of origin
      • Russia
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • 艾蓮娜
    • Filming locations
      • Biryulyovo Zapadnoye District, Moscow, Russia
    • Production company
      • Non-Stop Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $233,380
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,035
      • May 20, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,227,905
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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