By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Starring: Aleksey Rozin | Maryana Spivak | Matvey Novikov
Original language title: Nelyubov
Country: belgium, france, germany, russia
Year: 2018
Running time: 127
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6304162/reference
Chris says: “Not as sharp a political allegory as LEVIATHAN, nor does it possess that film’s necessary gallows humor (which might’ve been out of place here, anyway.) However, Andrey Zvyagintsev (whose greatest film remains his first, THE RETURN remains a necessary critical voice for his country and the petty squabbles between the two never-should-have-married leads are relatable to an almost uncomfortable degree. It’s bleak, but not unrelentingly so—brief, lyrical touches, like young Alexey’s swirling red-and-white ribbon or the unremitting duty of volunteering citizens point towards a humaneness lurking within the director’s rigorous worldview. 4 cats“