You may not be able to pronounce the name Andrey Zvyagintsev, but this spring you likely saw that flurry of consonants and vowels across Twitter or in the blogosphere. The director’s epic "Leviathan" was the big talk of the Cannes Film Festival, and one many thought would take the Palme d’Or. Instead, it had to settle on the screenplay prize, but if the buzz is anything to go by, this is a movie you need to put high on your watch list.
Starring Alexey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovitchenkov, Roman Madyanov, Anna Ukolova, Alexey Rozin and Sergey Pokhadaev, the movie is set in a small town in which a property owner and the mayor battle over a parcel of land, in a story inspired by the Biblical tale of Job. But there’s much more, as it comments on corruption in Russia, and our A-grade review calls the movie "not just masterful but also hugely important."
"Leviathan" will be released by Sony Pictures Classics on New Year’s Eve, and will hit Telluride and TIFF before that. Watch below.