LOVELESS
Cert 15 Running time 124 minutes ★★★★
Fatalism hangs over this magnificently maudlin and bitterly bleak Russian drama, which won best film at 2017’s prestigious London Film Festival.
The cold war between a divorced couple is heightened when their unwanted 12-year-old son goes missing.
Boris and Zhenya savagely unload blame and guilt on each other when they finally realise something is wrong. The more we see, the more we pity their child.
This is a damning critique of modern Russia, with the church, state and corporations failing to offer assistance or solace.
A voluntary group provides the only help, suggesting there’s nothing wrong with Russian people, but a great deal at fault with the governing institutions.
Loveless has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, as was director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s previous film, 2014’s even more scathing Leviathan.