Leviathan (M)
Starring: Aleksei Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov
IT’S a story with a soul as dark and troubled as Mother Russia itself.
Leviathan – in Russian with English sub-titles – is an indictment of Putin’s Russia, striking at the heart of a country it portrays as having a sick, corrupt “system” that is rotten to the core.
The people are pawns for the big boys, who – as long as they are connected – do as they wish with the property and even lives of their underlings.
The film’s flawed hero is little man Kolya, who runs a garage in a far from idyllic seaside fishing village.
Unfortunately for him, crooked local mayor Vadim has his eye on Kolya’s business and home … and will not be denied.
The cops, the court, the state … all are allied in the pursuit of evil.
But this is not a movie about what a corrupt local official is prepared to do – it’s about what the system will allow, and what steps it won’t take to help the little guy.
Unashamedly political, it seems a miracle this film – with its sledgehammer political overtones – was ever made.
In one scene, a shooting party uses political portraits as targets – taking care not to select any leaders who are too modern.
In another, a portrait of Russian leader Putin gazes benignly from an office wall while some of the film’s most corrupt scenes are being played out.
This film is a modern masterpiece as bleak as the Russian tundra, as we watch a man’s life thoroughly destroyed while no-one lifts a finger to help.
Don’t expect an uplifting, happy Hollywood ending – but this film will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
– Jason Beck
