Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		5.0

The Banishment Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 18, 2018

Andrey Zvyagintsev's "The Banishment" (2007) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon/Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original Russian trailer for the film; archival documentary; and archival interview with the director. In Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Vera

A cold and rainy night. A desolated town. A car pulls over, two men shake hands and enter what from the outside looks like an industrial building. They have a few quick exchanges and then the driver, who has been shot and is bleeding, asks his host to get a knife and try to remove a bullet that is stuck in his arm. His face reveals that he is exhausted and can barely stand on his feet.

This short but very atmospheric sequence creates the impression that Andrey Zvyagintsev’s second feature film, The Banishment, would be some sort of tense neo-noir thriller. But then the film abruptly heads in a completely new direction.

Now the man from the building, Alex (Konstantin Lavronenko), his wife, Vera (Maria Bonnevie), and their two children (Maksim Shibayev and Yekaterina Kulkina) are somewhere in the countryside. They reach a house on a hill that might have been closed for years. From afar the area looks like something that the mind of a masterful painter would envision. The children are excited to be here and are ready to start playing, but their parents act like total strangers. Alex quietly removes the wooden covers from the windows and visits each room, while Vera heads to the kitchen to see if there is water so that she can begin preparing their dinner.

Eventually, after the children run away and in a moment of awkward silence, Vera calmly announces that she is pregnant again -- but Alex isn’t the father.

If Zvyagintsev’s film had emerged a few years before Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker today, a large number of critics almost certainly would have referred to it as one of Soviet cinema’s greatest masterpieces. Indeed, it remains firmly grounded in reality and tells a very different story, but the manner in which Zvyagintsev interweaves breathtaking visuals and atmospheric music to lure the viewer in its reality is unquestionably realized with the same visionary brilliance that defines Tarkovsky’s work. Perhaps the only meaningful difference between the two directors comes from Zvyagintsev’s freedom to convey a much wider range of human emotions, which in return allows him to expose far more dramatic social contrasts that would have never sneaked past the red censors.

The simplicity of the story is incredibly deceiving, but for two different reasons. The first should not surprise anyone that has seen Zvyagintsev’s directorial debut, The Return, in which the growing tension between an abusive father and his two teenage sons is similarly used to highlight the internal corrosion of a country that has been unable to regain its classic identity after decades of Communist rule. (This is actually a constant theme in all of Zvyagintsev’s films). The second could be rather surprising because here Zvyagintsev actually further restricts the use of dialog but succeeds in ‘telling’ a much more nuanced story with even greater dramatic twists.

After the film premiered at Cannes, Lavronenko took home the Best Actor Award, and rightfully so, but the entire cast is equally impressive. Aleksandr Baluev's performance, in particular, is so good that it actually leaves a lasting impression that he might be a real shady character who, perhaps as a personal favor to Zvyagintsev, has temporarily stepped out of the shadows.

The deeply atmospheric music and clever sound design are as crucial for the film’s heavy ambience as are the stunning locations. Andrey Dergachev is truly a master of his art, and it is probably only a matter of time before the right project earns him an Academy Award.

The Banishment Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Andrey Zvyagintsev's The Banishment arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curzon/Artificial Eye.

The film looks extraordinary in high-definition. I have the old R2 DVD release that Artificial Eye produced ten years ago and the difference in quality is truly beyond dramatic. Of course the fact that the entire film is shot like a moving poem and there are tremendously carefully lensed panoramic shots makes a lot of the improvements even more obvious, but the new remaster that was produced and used for this release is immaculate. Frankly, folks, this is one of the very best looking releases to reach my desk in more than a few years. Depth, color nuances, and fluidity are simply remarkable and every bit as satisfying as Blu-ray can allow them to be. Also, the entire film is spotless. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Banishment 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. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Viewing the film with the lossless 5.1 track, without the altered pitch that the PAL-encoding introduced on the old R2 DVD release, was an incredible experience. There are large sections of the film where it feels like you are being placed in a giant Russian church with a brilliant choir doing some incredible things in the background and the feeling is just impossible to describe with simple words. Frankly, this is exactly the type of audio track that I would promote as 'reference material' -- incredibly rich nuances and stunning clarity and depth.

The Banishment Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original Russian trailer for The Banishment. In Russian, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Interview with Andrey Zvyagintsev - in this archival interview, Andrey Zvyagintsev discusses the profound impact that Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura had on him decades ago and how it inspired him to become a director, some of the early challenges he faced while trying to complete his first film, the evolution of his style and the conception of The Banishment, the special bond that he has with cinematographer Mikhail Krichman, etc. In Russian, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Behind the Scenes Documentary - this archival documentary chronicles the production history of The Banishment. In Russian, with English subtitles. (24 min).

The Banishment Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I consider Andrey Zvyagintsev one of the top five international directors today, and I believe that he has a refined style whose brilliance makes his work as good as that of legendary masters like Andrei Tarkovsky and Michelangelo Antonioni. I have revisited his second film, The Banishment, many times since I first saw it in 2008, and I just could not be happier that it is finally available on Blu-ray and looking so impressive. This is a truly special release that in different ways highlights everything that I like about the high-definition format. Superb. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.