Underplayed Gems

Loveless (2017)

Loveless poster
Original title
Нелюбовь
Directed by
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Genre
drama film
Country
Germany, Russia, France, Belgium
Runtime
2h 08m
Rated
14
Rating
7.3 of 10 from 824 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A separated couple who despise each other must work together when their 12-year-old son disappears. They search for him while confronting their own bitter and neglectful relationship.

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What happens

Loveless (Russian: Нелюбовь, romanized: Nelyubov) is a 2017 drama film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, who co-wrote it with Oleg Negin. The story concerns two separated parents, played by Maryana Spivak and Aleksey Rozin, whose loveless relationship has decayed into a state of bitterness and hostility. They are temporarily drawn back together after their only child goes missing and they attempt to find him. The story was inspired by the search-and-rescue group Liza Alert and Zvyagintsev's desire to make a film about a family. He was originally interested in making a Russian reworking of the 1973 Swedish miniseries Scenes from a Marriage but could not obtain the rights. Loveless was produced with international support after the Russian government disapproved of Zvyagintsev's 2014 anti-corruption film Leviathan. As a result, Loveless is a co-production of Russia, France, Belgium and Germany. Cinematographer Mikhail Krichman used a realistic style during filming in Moscow in 2016. Although Zvyagintsev said he had no interest in politics, he incorporated a skeptical view of the police into the film. Themes include parental neglect, the state of lovelessness or nelyubov, and bleak environments. Loveless opened to critical acclaim and won the Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Critics viewed it as a gripping story of a family crisis and a statement on life in Russia. It won two European Film Awards, including Best Cinematographer for Krichman, as well as the César Award for Best Foreign Film, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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