Congratulations to The Return, for several reasons. First, it is the only movie I have had in this class where I have hated all, yes all, of the main characters. The father is a flatout a**hole, Ivan is an unreasoning little vagrant, and Andrey is naive and ignorant. Second, it is the only movie that I have found myself continually calling it by a name other then the name it actually has. I keep wanting to call this movie The Island, which is a disgrace to any movie taking place on, near, or about an island, including Lost, The Island, and Gilligan's Island.
Now that I've complained about everything I hated about this movie, let me talk about what I enjoyed from this movie. The plotline was actually really good, and it did a great job of showing how time can alienate anyone from their family. The only thing that upset me about the plot was the fact that there were, hmm i don't know, about 20 RED HERRINGS ALL RELATING TO THE FATHER!!!!! Maybe it was just me wanting no rock left unturned, but I wanted to know everything! As for imagery, the island was so beautiful, and seemed to hold so many secrets that the movie barely brushed upon. I personally felt like it might have been possible that the island was some sort of demilitarized navy base, and they left barely anything behind.
I agree with your opinion concerning the characters of the film. I found that I did not like them that much until the end of the film when the father dies. I sympathized with the boys when they see their father's body drifting off to sea and sinking. Ivan's hopeless effort to try to get his father back was quite saddening.
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