Saving the best for last, it was nice to watch a world premiere for a film that had already won an award (the jury, who had seen the film before handing out the night’s prizes hit the bulls-eye with Andrei Zvyagintsev’s third feature (the award-winning 2003′s The Return and 2007′s The Banishment). A complex character study with a slow burn desperation, Elena is one about the civilized war between classes expertly detailed by the film’s lead. If this would have been a Main Comp entry, the Best actress award race between Tilda Swinton, Elena Anaya and Kirsten Dunst would have also included, Nadezhda Markina. Here’s the premiere night presentation and standing O.
About the author: Eric Lavallee View all posts by Eric Lavallee
Eric Lavallée is the founder, editor-in-chief and film critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric splits his time between his home base in Montreal, NYC, and is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. Top Films From Contemporary Film Auteurs:
Almodóvar (Talk to Her), Coen Bros. (Fargo), Dardennes (La Promesse), Haneke (Caché), Hsiao-Hsien (Three Times), Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love), Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry), Lynch (Mulholland Dr.), Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho), von Trier (Breaking the Waves)
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