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MOVIES / ON DVD / FATHER AND SON
Father and Son

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Father and Son (2004)

70%
67%
66%
N/A
N/A
N/A
70 %
Reviews Counted: 40 Fresh: 28  Rotten:12 Average Rating: 6.4/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 83 mins

Synopsis: Acclaimed filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (RUSSIAN ARK) brings us this sensual study of the bond between a strapping Russian father (Andrey Schetinin) and his soldier son (Aleksey Neymsyshev). In a dreamy rooftop apartment overlooking the sea, the pair wrestle, lift weights, bond, pore over... Acclaimed filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (RUSSIAN ARK) brings us this sensual study of the bond between a strapping Russian father (Andrey Schetinin) and his soldier son (Aleksey Neymsyshev). In a dreamy rooftop apartment overlooking the sea, the pair wrestle, lift weights, bond, pore over old photos of lost loved ones, and stare longingly into each other's eyes. Some neighbors and a girlfriend drop by, but this is a two-person movie all the way, with deep manly currents ebbing and flowing amid the hallucinatory fairy tale symbolism. The gorgeous photography by Alexander Burov bathes everything in a nostalgic golden light, as if it's all about to fade into one of the ancient photographs that adorn their walls. The presence of old radios playing endless variations on Tchaikovsky suggest this is all occurring in some timeless place of the mind, a notion confirmed as the father-son bond on display begins to dissolve with Oedipal inevitability. Despite associations one may have with gorgeous, half-naked men relentlessly caressing and eyeing each other, Sokurov denies any incestual homoerotic intentions as he is here aiming for something far more abstract and spiritual. His apprenticeship under legendary Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky shows as slow pacing and illogic are put to transcendental effect. This is the second film of a planned trilogy (MOTHER AND SON was the first and TWO BROTHERS AND A SISTER will be the last). [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Andrey Schetinin, Aleksey Neymyshev, Alexander Razbash, Fedor Lavrov, Marina Zasukhina

Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Screenwriter: Sergei Potepalov
Producer: Thomas Kufus
Composer: Andrei Sigle

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 10, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region (unknown)
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Additional Release Material:

  • Trailer

Text/Photo Gallery:

  • Photo Gallery

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image
3/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
02/17/07
Empire Magazine
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
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Ratings Image
4/5

This strikingly beautiful film from Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) captures relationships in an ethereal way that gets way under the skin.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/19/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
07/27/04
Channel 4 Film
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Ratings Image
4/5

As it links paternalism, militarism, and nationalism, this achingly beautiful film proves dreamily seductive but also profoundly disturbing.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/06/04
Jamie Russell
BBC
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1/4

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Full Review | comment Comment
02/17/07
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald
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N/A

Visually remarkable look at a gay relationship; one of the richest inside looks at gay love and tenderness.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/13/05
Michael E. Grost
Classic Film and Television
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3/5

Alexander Sokurov's obscure new film Father and Son doesn't quite come off.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/31/05
Dan Callahan
ToxicUniverse.com
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C+

Tediously mannered look at the obsessive intimate bonds between a father and his teen-aged military son.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/05/04
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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4/5

for a hit of pure cinema, you could do no better...than to spend a few moments reveling in its high

Full Review | comment Comment
09/30/04
Jay Antani
Los Angeles Alternative
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2/4

A beautiful but static viewing experience that utterly fails to touch the viewer.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/02/04
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
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3/4

Although Father and Son is never as deep or wrenching as Mother and Son, the careful casting and Sokurov's unique visual style continue to make this a series worth following.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/20/04
John Hartl
Seattle Times
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1.5/4

The film seems to have internalized Sokurov's inspiration so far that it becomes a blur of hints and vapors.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/20/04
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune
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N/A

Here was my question for most of this movie: Wha-? I was clueless. Did not understand.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/13/04
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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N/A

The film may be maddeningly obtuse, but its images are dazzling.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/13/04
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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N/A

Compelling but elusive.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/08/04
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International
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3/4

The best way to watch Father and Son is to let it wash over you and not be overly concerned with prosaic matters like plot.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/30/04
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
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3/4

Father and Son is definitely a puzzle, and frankly I was about to walk out on it before it drastically improved.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/30/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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D-

It’s hard to imagine a more jointly artful and mind-numbingly off-putting cinematic experience... Father and Son is the virtual definition of tedium.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/13/04
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today
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3/4

Poised and teasing in a way that might incite less patient viewers to madness. But you don't come to Sokurov for his narrative agility, you come for his rhapsodic longueurs.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/09/04
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
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