Film Details

The epic movies of Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Loveless) explore moral dilemmas and spiritual torment in a measured, visually stunning manner that evokes Tarkovsky. They are like great Russian novels on film. Because such works are daunting to most American moviegoers, Zvyagintsev’s follow-up to his award-winning debut feature The Return was never released in the U.S. until now (after two of his subsequent films garnered Oscar nominations). The Banishment follows a young family spending two months at their country house. But their rural idyll is undone by the wife’s revelation that she is pregnant with another man’s child, and by the husband’s connection to his brother’s shady activities. Inspired by a William Saroyan novel. “An extraordinary slow burn.” –NY Times. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 157 min.