MovieChat Forums > Otets i syn (2003) Discussion > 'I love him very much.'

'I love him very much.'


When Aleksey introduces Sasha to his father near the end of the film, Aleksey puts his head on Sasha's shoulder and says, "...and he is my friend. I love him very much."

I've always thought "he" referred to Sasha, and that this was supposed to reveal an intimate relationship between the two young men. But then I read somewhere that Aleksey was telling Sasha how much he loved his father, not the other way around. If it's true, it would completely change my interpretation of the ending. So... anyone care to share their ideas?

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Although I don't have a DVD handy to review the scene, my recollection is that I thought it was obvious that Aleksei was speaking of his father, not Sasha. After all, the film is about *their* relationship and the nature of their love as father and son. Sasha's role is small, and to whatever extent he and Aleksei have a relationship, the rest of the film doesn't indicate that it's close. So it seems to me that the interpretation you describe would be a non-sequitur. I saw the function of Sasha in the film as being an outsider (like a surrogate for the audience) looking in upon the love between Aleksei and his father, Andrei, and wishing he could be a part of it somehow.

I think the line "and he is my friend" is not meant to convey that Aleksei is transitioning from talking about one person (his father) to another (Sasha), but rather he saying that, in addition to Andrei being his father, he is also his (best) friend. Given that Aleksei was born when Andrei was 19 or 20, and that the wife/mother presumably died shortly after Aleksei's birth or at least when he was very young, the film suggests a backstory where Andrei and Aleksei have relied totally on each other and have experienced a closeness that few fathers and sons do. Another key part of dialogue in that last scene is when Aleksei expresses confidence that his father will re-marry, which inspires hope in Andrei precisely because his son is expressing it. When Aleksei seems surprised that his father found what he said to be meaningful, Andrei replies, "Everything about you is important. God sent you to me." Given that the shared grief of the wife/mother's loss has surely played a role in their closeness, and the fact that Andrei sees the wife he lost reflected in Aleksei, the ending seems to suggest that father and son are coming to a new realization concerning the inevitable change in their relationship. I think that perhaps they are realizing that not holding onto each other so tightly will not negate the depth or endurance of their love, but it will allow them to grow more into the men that they're supposed to be.

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