Elena DVD/Blu-ray/Download

Elena and Vladimir come from very different backgrounds. Vladimir is a wealthy, cold man, while Elena comes from a modest background, serving as his docile wife. The two of them have met late in life, each with a child from a previous marriage.

Vladimir has a distant relationship with his daughter. In contrast, Elena desperately tries to save her alcoholic son and his family from poverty with means she alone could not provide. When her husband Vladimir has a heart attack, he suddenly realizes his time on earth is limited. A tender but brief reunion with his daughter leads him to name her as the sole heir to his fortune. When Vladimir announces this change to Elena, her hope to help her son quickly vanishes. Submissive housewife Elena then comes up with a plan to provide her son and his family with a real change in life.

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Andrey Zvyagintsev was born in 1964 in Novosibirsk, Siberia. In 1984 he graduated from the Novosibirsk Theatrical School, and in in 1990 from the acting department of Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS), where he studied under the supervision of Eugene Lazarev. Andrey subsequently worked as an actor for independent theatrical projects and performed various guest roles in television series and movies.

In 2000 he made his directorial debut with three episodes for television’s The Black Room. His first feature, The Return, won the Golden Lion and the Lion of the Future for Best Directorial Debut at the2003 Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe. The film was sold to75 countries. His second feature, The Banishment, premiered at the Cannes Film Festivalin 2007 and earned Konstantin Lavronenko the Palme d’Or for Best Leading Actor, thefirst ever for a Russian actor.

In total, he has won over 40 prestigious international awards for his films. Elena, his latest film, won the Special Jury Prize in the UnCertain Regard section of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, among many other awards.

Filmography

Feature-Length Films

2003THE RETURN

2007 THE BANISHMENT

2011 ELENA

Short Films

2011 MYSTERY(part of Experiment 5IVE)

2009 APOCRYPHA (an unused segment for the feature film New York, I Love You)

2000 BUSHIDO, OBSCURE, CHOICE (three episodes of the TV series The Black Room)

RUSSIA – 2011 – 109 MINS - 35 MM - SCOPE 2.35 – DOLBY DIGITAL

★★★★

“GRIPPING and DISTURBING... ELENA is only the third feature film from this 48-year-old director, after THE RETURN...in many ways his most intimate, and the film with the most contemporary and realist character. The subtlety and stealth of this movie is a marvel...It is superbly shot and directed; it does not offer a thriller-type ending - the narrative is resolved in a disquieting minor key. A deeply satisfying film.”

Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN

★★★★ “There is a beautifully realised subtlety in Andrei Zvagintsev's gripping drama.... Nadezhda Markina’s captivating performance in the title role…”

Marc Lee, DAILY TELEGRAPH

★★★★ “Andrey Zvagintsev’s multi-awarded film which follows the superb THE RETURN...paints an eloquent picture of Russian life...But the quiet truthful performance of Nedezhda Markina...enables us to believe in it…One of the very best Russian films of the past year.

Derek Malcolm, THE EVENING STANDARD

★★★★ “A morality tale that gradually assumes the weight of a Dostoevsky novel…it draws you into these complex, contradictory lives…Powerfully addressing issues of class conflict and moral decay in modern Russia”

Allan Hunter, THE DAILY EXPRESS

Philip French, THE OBSERVER

★★★★ “This third film by the director of THE RETURN - his most stylish and his most accessible – is also utterly compelling”

Laurence Phelan, INDEPENDENT RADAR

★★★★ “Zvyagintsev’s subtly chilling film”

Olivia Marks, THE SUNDAY TIMES

★★★★ “A sparse and elegant piece of work…searingly eloquent scenes…this is accomplished filmmaking, bold in every way.”

Wendy Ide, THE TIMES

★★★★ “ A Russian exercise in lull and ambush, a tale about priority and loyalty…which is constantly enlivened by a Philip Glass score”

Leo Robson, THE FINANCIAL TIMES

★★★★ “Zvyagintsev, who also made the magnificent THE RETURN, is proving himself a major talent.”

Anthony Quinn, THE INDEPENDENT

★★★★ “Russia’s Andrei Zvyagintsev has emerged as one of Europe’s finest directors… This is a quietly powerful, brilliant film, and ice burns in its heart.”

Jason Solomons, THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

★★★★ “ The corrupting power of money runs through the veins of this superb Russian film…This is smart, gripping cinema.”

Dave Calhoun, TIME OUT

Critics’ Choice:

“This powerful drama about a grandmother married to a wealthy husband acts as a striking allegory of the new Russia”

Dave Calhoun, TIME OUT

Peter Bradshaw (Jury), Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard

★★★★★

“A sensational Russian drama... a film to crow about loudly...Elenahas the taut dramatic structure of a Dostoyevsky parable, matched with mesmerising long-take technique, a hushed, disquieting soundscape, and images that jangle in your head for days.”

Tim Robey, The Daily Telegraph

'CRITICS’ PICK. Brilliant and gripping.'
- Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES

'Spellbinding and impeccably crafted.... Performances are superb across the board, framed in elegant widescreen compositions that simmer with violence.'
- Sheri Linden, LOS ANGELES TIMES

'PICK OF THE WEEK! Mesmerizing! A mysterious existential thriller that’s brilliantly acted and masterfully directed, without a second of wasted screen time.'
- Andrew O’Hehir, SALON

'Grounded in classic elements of film noir but lensed with a stillness that becomes paradoxically nerve-rattling...a thriller about the shifting moral calculus in a world where money changes everything.'
- Steve Dollar, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

'Stunning...An outstanding Russian drama of fractured families, money and quiet desperation.'
- Neil Young, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

'A wise and impeccably controlled drama that finds Russian helmer Andrei Zvyagintsev in outstanding form.... Zvyagintsev spins a taut, engrossing yarn about a coveted inheritance, cruel class differences and quietly monstrous misdeeds.'
- Justin Chang, VARIETY

'As much thriller as character study, “Elena” is compelling not only for the situation it maps but the social milieu that it depicts.'

J. Hoberman, ART INFO

'An intensely compelling slice of noir about moral rot and class warfare in post-Soviet Russia....A bone-deep existential unease and spiritual alienation, a preoccupation with sin that is at once quintessentially Russian and wholly archaic..... [Zvyagintsev’s] vision of eternal human frailty is inescapably tragic and religious — and brutally unforgiving.'
- Ella Taylor, NPR Radio

'Devastating! I can't recommend it highly enough...a distressingly universal tale of haves and have-nots, not to mention an apt reminder that morality and ethics can be slippery propositions when other interests drive us.'
- Tim Greirson, IFC.COM

'Impeccably composed, stark visuals lending a near-apocalyptic mood that permeates every frame. Andrey Zvyagintsev taps into the rich tradition of film noir, as well as the influence and cultural echoes of such diverse Russian forebears as Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Tarkovsky.'
- Christopher Bourne, TWITCH

'Extraordinary... Grounded by Markina’s magnificent performance...brilliantly shot by Zvyagintsev regular Krichman, and its chill heightened by hyper, excited bursts from Glass’s score.'
- Howard Feinstein, SCREEN DAILY

Visit Elena's website (in Russian)

Visit Andrey Zvyagintsev’s website

Read a review in Dear Cinema

New Filmed interview about Elena with Andrey Zvyagintsev at the ICA (Nov 2015)

For film bookings please contact Colin Burch at Verve Pictures — [email protected]. Press resources are on the Press page.