Leviathan (2014)

In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family.

Director:

Andrey Zvyagintsev

Writers:

Oleg Negin, Andrey Zvyagintsev

Stars:

Aleksey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Roman Madyanov

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 36 wins & 44 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aleksey Serebryakov	...	Nikolay
Elena Lyadova	...	Lilya
Vladimir Vdovichenkov	...	Dmitriy
Roman Madyanov	...	Mer
Anna Ukolova	...	Anzhela
Aleksey Rozin	...	Pasha
Sergey Pokhodaev	...	Romka
Platon Kamenev	...	Vitya
Sergey Bachurskiy	...	Stepanych
Valeriy Grishko	...	Arkhierey
Alla Emintseva	...	Sudya
Margarita Shubina	...	Prokuror
Dmitriy Bykovskiy-Romashov	...	Nachalnik politsii (as Dmitriy Bykovskiy)
Sergey Borisov	...	Operativnik
Igor Savochkin	...	Sledovatel

Storyline

On the outskirts of a small coastal town in the Barents Sea, where whales sometimes come to its bay, lives an ordinary family: Kolya (Aleksey Serebryakov), his wife Lilya (Elena Lyadova) and their teenage son Romka. The family is haunted by a local corrupted mayor (Roman Madyanov), who is trying to take away the land, a house and a small auto repair shop from Kolya. To save their homes Kolya calls his old Army friend in Moscow (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), who has now become an authoritative attorney. Together they decide to fight back and collect dirt on the mayor.

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Plot Keywords:

mayor | lawyer | corrupt politician | alcoholic | alcohol | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality/graphic nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official Website

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

5 February 2015 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Leviathan

Filming Locations:

Kirovsk, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,092,800

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,396,821

Company Credits

Production Co:

Non-Stop Productions, A Company Russia, Russian Ministry of Culture

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was criticized by the Russian Ministry of Culture - who had provided 35% of its funding - for its negative depiction of ordinary Russians. The Ministry took exception to its picture of Russians as being lazy and hard-drinking, hardly the type of image the country wanted to foster abroad. Despite this, the film was submitted as Russia's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and was rewarded with an Oscar nomination.

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Quotes

Arkhierey: All power comes from God. As long as it suits Him, fear not.
The Mayor: And so, it suits Him?

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Connections

Featured in The Oscars (2015)

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Soundtracks

Akhnaten -Act 1 - Prelude: Refrain, Verse 1, Verse 2
Written by Philip Glass

User Reviews

Filmography at its highest peak...

From the very beginning up to very end you can feel the tension and the emotions up to a pure exaggeration! This is not at all something negative! The photography is absolutely enchanting and offers to the viewer that beautiful heartbeat that in a such a film is essential. Amazing, unforgettable landscapes!

You cannot resist in taking sides when you see and understand the heroes battling with their demons and their enemies, that seem to be surrounding everything that makes their lives...

Andrey Zvyagintsev after the wonders of drama, passion and mystic lyricism (Vozvrashchenie and Izgnanie) offers yet another one similar of his creations, adding though, a "spicy" allow me to say subject, a taboo, about corruption in modern day Russia and how all those things which are considered as high values to the Russian State and people, seem to be part in this injustice, destroying peoples' lives.