The icy Russian film that wowed Cannes
Loveless paints a grim picture of life in contemporary Russia – but it’s pleased the critics in Cannes. Matthew Anderson takes a look.
Russian director Andrei Zvyangintsev’s film Leviathan was a hit when it played at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, and it went on to get an Oscar nomination for best foreign-language picture. It’s the story of a man at the mercy of corrupt officials in Russia, and, although it was celebrated abroad, it was highly controversial at home.
Zvyangitsev’s new film, Loveless, which has played to great acclaim at Cannes this year, is a less overtly political affair. On the surface it deals with an unhappy couple whose son goes missing while their relationship is unravelling. But underneath this there is still some clear criticism of Russia’s broken institutions – the family, the media and the police.
BBC Culture’s Matthew Anderson takes a look at a film many at the festival are talking up as a possible winner of Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or.
Watch a special edition of Talking Movies from the Cannes Film Festival on 27 and 28 May on BBC World News. Click here for schedule details.
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