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Leviathan

Play trailer Poster for Leviathan R Released Dec 25, 2014 2h 22m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 147 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A Russian fisherman (Alexey Serebryakov) fights back when a corrupt mayor tries to seize possession of his ancestral home.
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Leviathan

Leviathan

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Critics Consensus

Leviathan lives up to its title, offering trenchant, well-crafted social satire on a suitably grand scale.

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Critics Reviews

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas The Blue Lenses Zvyagintsev grants unrelenting, painstaking attention to the human drama that underscores Leviathan, but at the same time - as the name suggests - there are much bigger things going. Aug 25, 2018 Full Review Claudia Puig The Asahi Shimbun GLOBE (Japan) A palpable and melancholy aura of resignation fills the masterful Leviathan the fourth feature from Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev. [Full review in Japanese] Rated: 3.5/4 Dec 19, 2016 Full Review Katie Kilkenny The Atlantic Leviathan offers a wry version of the tragedy that occurs when normal people challenge entrenched hierarchies. Jul 19, 2016 Full Review Diego Batlle Otroscines.com The first half is quite accomplished and includes rare discoveries with its black humor, but during its second half (especially at the end), this morally and symbolically heavy tragedy grows pretentious and solemn... [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3.5/5 Apr 26, 2023 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Portions of the work accurately reflect life and reality, but social facts and pressures, like a gravitational force, bend much of the film in false and deeply disoriented ways. Feb 12, 2021 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia Zvyagintsev elaborates a social labyrinth where he puts forward the effigy of the chronicle of a Russian people led by a wholesale bureaucracy far from morality. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jun 26, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Leviathan is a 2014 Russian crime drama film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, co-written by Zvyagintsev and Oleg Negin and starring Aleksei Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov and Roman Madyanov. It deals with some of the most important social issues of contemporary Russia. Critics noted the film as being formidable, dealing with quirks of fate, power and money. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Zvyagintsev and Negin won the award for Best Screenplay. The film was judged the best film of the year at the 2014 BFI London Film Festival and the 45th International Film Festival of India. It won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards and the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Feature Film in 2014. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. Vision praised the film for its cinematography, acting and themes. The film was stunningly shot. I especially love the imagery of the whale skeleton, which was shown twice in the film. The acting is impressive overall. The film is a commentary on contemporary social issues experienced by ordinary people in Russia. Land appropriations. Injustice. The story of post rural Russia. When developers take your land, bulldoze your homestead and leave the plot barren for years. Hauntingly realistic. The film is a return to Zvyagintsev's earlier themes of his previous film Elena. A slow bore until the end with no justice served. The similarities from the daughter in Elena and our homeowner in this film exist. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/25 Full Review Peter W The description on Rotten Tomatoes claims the movie is in original English language. On Amazon PRIME video it is in Russian with English subtitles or English (play by play) description. For me this Amazonian deception, which I'm certain was an honest ai-driven mistake, relieved our bank account of $3.49 never to be seen again, except maybe in the fuel tank of Mr. Bozos [sorry google keyboard mis-autofilled the name...] Blue Origin rocket! If I were fluent in Russian I'm guessing this film is incredible. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/25 Full Review Les S Really slow and in Russian or French Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/09/24 Full Review Kyle M Through baseless injustice and atmospheric scenery, the sharply scripted crime drama is well-performed that elevates perceptual justification in response to its social commentary realized under general terms. (B) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/13/24 Full Review Pantera O I'll step out for a smoke" Una familia rusa es victima de un enemigo silencioso. Intrigante. Lenta. Profunda. Con una nula ambientación músical, solo con algunos pocos efectos de sonido y el ambiente natural. Planos largos y contemplativos, que expresan el constante misterio e incertidumbre de la trama. El agua expresa lo desconocido, y el hogar de la mitica bestia. Cuando situa a los personajes de frente del mar, situa a la bestia detras de ellos. Personaje se golpea en la cabeza con el techo por ser muy alto, cambia el montaje en otra conversación, con la imagen del paisaje del mar parcialmente abierto dice, "It fits", vuelve a aparecer personaje sobre la imagen del paisaje parcialmente abierto. Otra conversación, hace un sonido de dragón en su exhalacion y dice "You are playing with fire". 1 bala fallida = a un trago, ese juego esta bueno. La señora bien chismosa y sensaciónalista, que termina por "adoptar" al niño, diciendo que no es por el dinero. La corrupción y poder de los políticos, y la falsa idea de justicia. La monstruosidad del ser. El verdadero monstruo es el capitalismo, la busqueda de poder y de dinero. Crea tensión a traves de las imagenes que poco a poco van revelando su significado, te pone a reflexionar sobre muliples situaciones que te llevan a pensar en la crudesa de la realidad, violenta y despiadada, donde los poderosos someten a los mas debiles. Es cine 🚬. ¿Un cuento de hadas? Todo el poder viene de Dios Técnica: 7.8 Expresión: 8.6 Efecto: 9.0 Experiencia: 8.0 Calificación: 8.3/10 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/13/24 Full Review Luke C In all fairness, compared to Deep Star Six, Leviathan is a better shot movie, for sure. But, for some reason in my own personal perspective, DSS just entertains me more. The characters play out as more fun, and the creature is more mysterious. Leviathan is over the top. Deep Star Six is my own cult classic. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Leviathan

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Russian fisherman (Alexey Serebryakov) fights back when a corrupt mayor tries to seize possession of his ancestral home.
Director
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Producer
Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov
Screenwriter
Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Non-Stop Prods.
Rating
R (Language|Graphic Nudity|Some Sexuality)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 25, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.2M
Runtime
2h 22m
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