Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 12, 2015

Selected to represent Russia in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 87th Academy Awards, Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Leviathan" (2014) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; making of featurette; exclusive video interview with the Russian director; and gallery of deleted scenes. In Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Silenced

One can easily tell that very little has changed in the small Northern town where Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s latest film, Leviathan, is set. There are a few imported cars -- owned by the town’s corrupt mayor (Roman Madyanov) and his goons -- but communist relics are still everywhere. The place is gloomy and incredibly depressing, full of disillusioned drunks and elderly people who barely make ends meet. From here the glitzy Moscow, the pearl of Vladimir Putin’s new empire, looks like a mirage.

But Kolya (Alexey Serebryakov), a local mechanic with a drinking problem, loves the town. He has spent his entire life there and wants to die in the same beautiful house where his parents lived and died. He could have taken his son, Roma (Sergey Pokhodaev), and second wife, Lilya (Elena Lyadova), to a bigger and better, maybe even Moscow, and found a better job, but he knows that he would have never been happy there. This is the place that he would have always called home.

The town’s mayor, however, has a different plan for Kolya and his family. He has seized the land where Kolya and his family live and told them to leave so that a friendly red apparatchik turned businessman can build a massive amusement park. Kolya has already been given the proper documents and now it is only a matter of time before he packs his belongings and moves somewhere else.

Or so the mayor thinks.

Kolya has phoned his best friend, Dmitri (Vladimir Vdovitchenkov), a successful lawyer in Moscow, and asked him to represent him in the local court. The two have not seen each other in years, but Kolya is convinced that he is the right man for the job. If Dimitri can win big cases in Moscow, then surely he can also win one for him in the tiny fishing town.

Viewers who have never visited post-communist Russia may be left with the impression that Leviathan is some sort of a witty satirical film, possibly following the steps of Emir Kusturica’s bizarre dramedies, but what Zvyagintsev’s camera has captured is actually the ugly and maddening reality people in Russia are facing daily.

The small fishing town is a microcosm of Putin’s corrupt empire. It is run by former communists turned businessmen and criminal elements who have become their lackeys. Together they have taken over the courts, the police, the city hall, and even the local church and no one is allowed to question their authority. If someone is stupid enough to do so -- like Kolya and his friend do -- he is quickly silenced and removed from the public eye. The tactics are a lot like those Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Andropov’s men used, only this time the killers are in love with the expensive Western toys the old regime loved to dismiss. (The final sequence where the new leaders are seen exiting the church and getting into their expensive German and Japanese cars is flat-out nauseating).

For many ordinary Russians the only way to deal with the maddening reality is to drink -- and men and women do. Some drink to temporarily forget their misery, others do because they have become addicted to alcohol and can no longer live without it.

At times it really does look like the actors are consuming large amounts of vodka in front of the camera and then become uncontrollable. Serebryakov and Madyanov, in particular, are hugely impressive. The elegant Lyadova, who also appeared in Zvyagintsev’s previous film, Elena, is also very convincing as the young and disillusioned housewife.

Leviathan was lensed by Zvyagintsev’s regular cinematographer, Mikhail Krichman. The atmospheric soundtrack was created by Philip Glass (The Qatsi Trilogy).

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

It is not surprising that the majority of the outdoor footage looks terrific as director Zvyagintsev shot Leviathan with Arriflex Cameras. When there is an abundance of natural light, image depth and clarity can be enormously impressive, making it very easy to see numerous extremely small objects and details (see screencapture #3). Colors are also very natural and stable. Generally speaking, the darker footage also boasts impressive depth and fluidity. In fact, many of the outdoor panoramic shots actually look like digital photographs (see screencaptures #5, 6, and 7). This being said, there are a few sequences where the blacks have been destabilized and as a result a few very light blocky patches pop up. I feel that most viewers will not spot them as they disappear very quickly, but it is possible that some viewers with larger screens will notice them. The most obvious one is during the religious ceremony at the end of the film (see screencaptures #15). Overall image stability is outstanding. All in all, Leviathan really does look terrific in high-definition, but the encoding could have been a bit more convincing. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Russian LPCM 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

While Leviathan isn't a film that can impress with excellent surround movement, the 5.1 track is clearly a lot more effective as separation on it is superior. The atmospheric score by Philip Glass (The Qatsi Trilogy) also breathes a lot easier, with the synthesizer solos in particular being far lusher and better rounded. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow. Finally, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original UK theatrical trailer for Leviathan. In Russian, with imposed English subtitles (2 min).

• Making of - this featurette offers an unedited look at the shooting of Leviathan. In Russian, with optional English subtitles. (29 min).

• Interview with Andrey Zvyagintsev - in this long and very informative video interview, the Russian director explains how Leviathan came to exist, and discusses the current socio-political climate in his country, the unique conflicts in his film, the shooting process, etc. The interview was conducted for French label Pyramide Video. In Russian, with optional English subtitles. (23 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In Russian, with optional English subtitles (23 min).

Leviathan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is not surprising that there are so many bizarre developments surrounding the recent murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. In Vladmir Putin's Russia anything is possible, and anyone can be made responsible for anything. Andrey Zvyagintsev's latest film, Leviathan, offers a chilling glimpse into post-communist Russia, a stunningly beautiful but largely surreal place run by a powerful red mafia. It was one of the best films I saw in 2014 and my favorite amongst the Oscar finalists. RECOMMENDED.