The Banishment [DVD]

The critical consensus of The Banishment on its theatrical release was that, while stunningly beautiful and excellently acted, it is unoriginal and narratively confused. In fact, reading the reviews at the time of its belated UK release, it almost seemed as if the reviewers had for some reason clubbed together to ensure that none of them went out on a limb to give it too much praise. There was an excess, we were told, of characters gazing wordlessly into the distance, like a parody of an Antonioni movie; there was too much heavy-handed symbolism; too much music by cult composer Arvo Part; the characterisation was psychologically implausible; above all, the film fell well short of the achievement of The Return, the director`s debut feature. Nearly all the reviewers seemed to have identical opinions.

So I was anxious to see whether a second viewing of this intense family drama would confirm my initial enthusiastic response, and the answer is an emphatic "yes". Again, the 160 minutes, which seemed more like 60, are utterly gripping throughout, though concentration is required. Yes, there are scenes where characters gaze wordlessly into the distance, but far less than the reviewers imply, and it is wholly in keeping with the characters' predicament. Some reviewers complained, for example, about an early scene on a train where husband and wife sit opposite one another not saying a word; it is perfectly obvious that it is because they are very tired, even asleep!

Having got that off my chest, you will want to know what this outstanding film is about. It is based on a little-known story by the American writer William Saroyan, and is set in a vaguely East European environment (filmed, we are told, in Moldova and Belgium). There are two brothers, Alex and Mark, with unspecified criminal connections. Alex, played by the superb Konstantin Lavronenko (the gloomy father from The Return), takes his wife Vera and their two young children to stay at his late father's house in the country. Alex and Vera are strangely uncommunicative, until Vera drops a bombshell which causes Alex to call in Mark to help him. This leads to a tragic turn of events, with an extended flashback near the end which simultaneously helps to explain things and confounds our previous assumptions. It is this flashback, which on first viewing I completely misunderstood, which some reviewers thought was clumsily handled; I would prefer to say that it is introduced in too original and subtle a manner. The Banishment is a film that, like Hitchcock's Vertigo, you have to see a second time in order to concentrate on a particular character, and particularly on the dialogue.

Zviagintsev has, to my mind, established himself as a hugely visionary director, whose debt to Tarkovsky is obvious. He is in a long line of supreme Russian directors of children (see, for example, Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood, Klimov's Come And See, and Kravchuk's recent debut feature The Italian). He is a master at creating an ominous, portentous, threatening mood (and this is where Arvo Part's music helps).

If The Banishment had been Zviagintsev's first feature, I suspect that the reviewers of our daily and Sunday newspapers would have hailed it as an out-and-out masterpiece. But they seem afraid of heaping too much praise on the second film of a "difficult" director whose first was such a critical triumph; they prefer the safety of a Batman or Harry Potter movie, entertaining but otherwise pointless.

The only DVD extra of any interest is a 20-minute interview with the director, who emphasises that, though the film is in Russian, it is deliberately not set in any specific country or, indeed, time. I think the newspaper reviewers should give this film another try, and, for anyone who has not seen it, please do so!

Even if you watch The Banishment and conclude that American filmmakers are better at telling a story, think again: how often have you understood what's happening in a Hollywood movie but struggled to care about the characters or the outcome? Watching without feeling.

It's true that this film leaves you with more questions than answers, but its intense atmosphere and long pauses seep into your bones and hold you captive. People don't say much but nothing said is superfluous. The director really knows how to frame a shot, to maximise the effect of the haunting landscape with his soughing copses and eternal skyline. The scene where Alex goes rushing through the woods at night, with a brooding male voice choir humming along on the soundtrack, is visual poetry.

It is a bit of a long haul but I suspect further viewing will be more revealing, and the director tellingly employees the old theatrical rule of keeping terrible activities 'off-stage'. There is a kind of twist that might strike you as too cerebral to be realistic, but given that this is a film about adults unable to commit to an emotional response and children shrugging their shoulders and getting on with their games...

I would gladly watch this again, which is more than I can say for some of Tarkovsky's features.

The Banishment [DVD] [2007]

"Banishment" is in the mode of the great silent films with very short terse dialogue interspersed to replace the captions of pre dialogue days. This accounts for the adverse reaction of some reviewers to the characters "looking into space"; in fact this is fine acting portraying their thoughts.

For example the scene on the train where everyone is serenely asleep but with the husband and wife at opposite ends of the seat indicating a contented but underintegrated relationsip. asleep that is except for the wife who is absorbed in thought and suddenly gives a knowing smile, a smile repeated at crucial times in the film.

The silent film approach necessitates a more relaxed pace to enable the acting to convey the intentions of the characters, and the effect in this film is we get to know them in the way one gets to know another family in real life, by interaction and not listening in on their conversations.

This method can only work with the relatively simple plot of the film and I found only one instance of confusion with a badly handled transition to a major flashback.

The cinematography and framing of the images is superb, the score by Avro Part provides some fascinating sounds, all combined with excellent natural acting and direction to provide a wonderful experience.

"Banishment" could be a cultural shock for those unaccustomed to the silent era, and therefore probably best rented before purchased.