Back to top

Elena

Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Elena image - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
NOW AVAILABLE TO OWN OR VIEW ON DEMAND
Download on Apple TV
Elena poster - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
Sensational. Has the taut dramatic structure of a Dostoyevsky parable, matched with mesmerising long-take technique, a hushed, disquieting soundscape, and images that jangle in your head for days. Breathtaking. A film to crow about loudly
Tim Robey
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK)
Potent. Zvyagintsev’s direction is so precise and his actors are so good that he needs little dialogue and next to no exposition. He puts you so deeply into the lives of these people that one laugh can be transformative. Quietly electrifying.
Sandra Hall
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Outstanding. Exquisitely photographed with pristine symmetry, and using a striking music score by Philip Glass, this quietly disturbing film makes a considerable impact. Masterly.
David Stratton
ABC AT THE MOVIES
Beautifully done. Zvyagintsev is a really wonderful filmmaker.
Margaret Pomeranz
ABC AT THE MOVIES
A riveting nail-biter of a thriller. Extraordinary. A thoroughly modern twist on the classic noir, framed for our modern times in contemporary Moscow. Exemplary and entertaining.
Ed Gibbs
THE SUNDAY AGE
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Cast: Nadezhda Markina, Andrey Smirnov, Elena Lyadova, Alexey Rozin
Duration: 109mins
Country of Origin: Russia
M
Coarse language and violence
Sensational. Has the taut dramatic structure of a Dostoyevsky parable, matched with mesmerising long-take technique, a hushed, disquieting soundscape, and images that jangle in your head for days. Breathtaking. A film to crow about loudly
Tim Robey
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK)
Potent. Zvyagintsev’s direction is so precise and his actors are so good that he needs little dialogue and next to no exposition. He puts you so deeply into the lives of these people that one laugh can be transformative. Quietly electrifying.
Sandra Hall
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Outstanding. Exquisitely photographed with pristine symmetry, and using a striking music score by Philip Glass, this quietly disturbing film makes a considerable impact. Masterly.
David Stratton
ABC AT THE MOVIES
Beautifully done. Zvyagintsev is a really wonderful filmmaker.
Margaret Pomeranz
ABC AT THE MOVIES
A riveting nail-biter of a thriller. Extraordinary. A thoroughly modern twist on the classic noir, framed for our modern times in contemporary Moscow. Exemplary and entertaining.
Ed Gibbs
THE SUNDAY AGE

WINNER - 2011 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL - Special Jury Prize (Un Certain Regard)
WINNER - RUSSIAN ACADEMY AWARDS (NIKAS) - Best Director, Actress (Markina), Supporting Actress (Lyadova), Cinematography

OFFICIAL SELECTION - TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION - SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The winner of the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at Cannes 2011, Russian maestro Andrey Zvyagintsev's is a taut & engrossing noir thriller of loyalties, familial ties, and a coveted inheritance, fuelled by class warfare in Putin’s new Russia.

Middle-aged couple Elena (Nadezhda Markina) and Vladimir (Andrey Smirnov), come from different walks of society. He is a well-off businessman; she is a former medical worker, now a housewife. Having met late in life, each has children from previous marriages. Elena’s son is unemployed and constantly asking for money. Vladimir’s daughter is a careless young woman whose contact with her father is irregular and strained. Their worlds rupture when a heart attack puts Vladimir in hospital and he makes a significant decision: his daughter will be the only heiress of his wealth. The shy and submissive Elena’s hopes of helping her son and grandchildren secure a better life are crushed, triggering a desperate plan…

With ELENA, Zvyagintsev (The Return) conjures a riveting and uncompromising vision of a Russia in moral disarray, and a masterful insight into human nature.

Elena poster - a film by Andrey Zyvagintsev
NOW AVAILABLE TO OWN OR VIEW ON DEMAND
Download on Apple TV