MovieChat Forums > Elena (2011) Discussion > Some random thoughts

Some random thoughts

posted 11 years ago by april89
8 replies | jump to latest

Vlad (Volodya) seemed like a moral human being, but his backstory and how he got his money is never explained. I guess he was into some pretty shady business back in the early 90s and his rigid demeanor and preaching was a defensive mechanism against his own past transgressions.

Katya generally loved her father. The scene in the hospital wasn't acting on her part- she seemed like she was ashamed of her lifestyle deep down inside and didn't want her father to be hurt by seeing her high or drunk- that's the reason she minimized contact with him. Her decision not to give birth was also a result of her shame- she didn't want to bring a "mini" her into the world because she loathes herself deep down inside.

Elena's son and his wife probably made both the second and third child just to collect the reward the Russian state pays for having children- it can be several thousand dollars. That explains why they waited for so long to have more kids. They're typical parasites who will drink and smoke that money away.

Elena is a false moralist. In Soviet times she was probably a die hard atheist. Now she's religious because it's the fashionable thing to be. Tomorrow, who knows?

BTW, the film would have benefited from some tighter editing. Cut out 10-20 minutes of people walking or making beds and it would have been a masterpiece.

[–] hilaryjrp 11 years ago

@april89--

This film would have benefited from an hour of editing. I can't believe it was from Zvyagintsev. Katya was the only person who interested me, and her presence in only one scene was a big disappointment. Elena's decision to kill is clearly founded in the seminal exchange, so full of class-hatred (justifiable and otherwise), when Vlad coldly talks about her and her family as, basically, human excrescences. That they are germs only makes the film more uncomfortable.

Alll in all, a very memorable film, but extremely disappointing in execution, in every way. It reminds me of M. Night Shyamalan, for some reason.

[–] bogwart-1 11 years ago

You make far too many assumptions for which you have no evidence. Nowhere in the film is there the remotest suggestion that Vladimir had a shady past, or that he was ashamed of it in any way.

With Katya I believe you are utterly wrong. Again, there is no evidence for your statement about her shame. She showed her colours very clearly at the reading of the will, and her behaviour bore out everything her father thought about her.

I don't know where you get that stuff about the Russian welfare payments. Do you have a source for that?

Again, Elena and her religiosity or lack thereof. Zvyagintsev really did not want to include that scene, and it is certainly out of place. But it has nothing whatsoever to do with any desire to be fashionable (show me where else in the film she shows any interest in being fashionable) and it's something that yet again you've made up.

All in all I don't know why you bothered to watch this film, which is Zvyagintsev's best since The Return. You've made up so much, most of it utterly imaginary, that you'd have been better employed trying to write it yourself.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 10 years ago

@bogwart

I think you're being very harsh and I don't think you're entirely accurate either.

Re-Katya: her attitude at the settlement hearing with the lawyer was a reaction to Elena; until Elena denies there's any money in the safe Katya had been subdued. Katya's reaction when she sees her father's corpse seemed genuine and heartfelt and a contrast to the audible sobbing of Elena, the latter's for good effect perhaps -?

Wealth in modern Russia does beg the question of legitimate earnings or not. I don't know about a Russian benefit system but I'm sure that's the kind of info that can be sourced via the net.

The scene with Elena in the church is an interesting inclusion. I listened to the director's comments on it and how it was inspired. I thin the scene adds to the complexity of Elena and doe snot necessarily show her being fashionable but the film does leave it to the viewer to find a centre from which they interpret what is presented.

I give my respect to those who have earned it; to everyone else, I'm civil.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 10 years ago

I wondered too as to how Vladimir made his money. He did not seem a generous person.

I think Elena is a very complex person. Did she marry Vladimir only for his money? If she cared only for his money then why light candles in church? There's no need for that scene to show her as a false moralist when her entire situation suggests it. But I agree that's she's not familiar with being in a church - not putting on her head scarf, knowing where to find the saint's alcove and the way that the woman on duty looks at her.

I give my respect to those who have earned it; to everyone else, I'm civil.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PoppyTransfusion 9 years ago

The speculation is not about any rich person but how a man made his wealth in modern Russia where most wealth has been achieved corruptly.

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.

[–] Stirchley 10 years ago

Cut out 10-20 minutes of people walking or making beds and it would have been a masterpiece.

I would imagine the director's intention was to show how mundane and every day these people's lives were. Think about 24 hours in your own life: how much of it is action and how much of it is the same thing you did yesterday, the day before, the day before that ...?

[–] armensog 9 years ago

not sure about shady business, don't know where you got that from. The rest is well spot on, good that I'm not alone on that, seeing all the bull in other threads that justifies the lower class.