When I first saw this movie, I loved it and watched it three more times that weekend. The cinematography and acting are incredible. My favorite shot is the shot where the father falls off the tower and the camera peers over the edge.Should have been nominated and won for best foreign language film.
sharei thought it looked like advertisement.
shareGoing back to cinematography, I personally liked camera panning around shakily from Ivan's POV at the pier. He's looking around, particularly his dad, through the binoculars. Also I admired where the scene finishes fittingly with Andrei noticing Ivan looking him through the binoculars and gives back a cheeky tongue-out smile. I absolutely loved it.
Normally when you have a dodgy shot like that you're considered a bad cameraman but the scene is put in such a way that one cannot help but feel and admire the aesthetics. Cinematography, direction, scene setting and film editing is absolutely fantastic. Not a great fan of motion blur but it was perfectly layered on the chase scene at the end with fitting sound effects to go with it.
Maybe because it's my first Russian movie, I loved watching something beautiful that isn't in your typical Hollywood recipe.
Passion before Rationality before Conformity.