Leviathan (2014 film)

Leviathan (2014 film)

Plot

1.    The film is set in coastal town Pribrezhny.

2.    The story revolves around a hotheaded out-of-work simpleton named Kolya (Alexei Serebriakov) and the events in his life. (పనిలేని, తెలివిలేని, దుందుడుకు స్వభావం కలిగిన)

3.    The film's narrative is focused on the dark and icy aspects of human nature and the modern fissures found in social contracts, particularly the ones found in the abuses of modern law.

4.    The film tries to unmask the truth behind moral aspects of superficial friendliness, blind love and undeserved trust.

5.    Events seem to unravel tragically for Kolya when a crooked mayor named Vadim (Roman Madyanov) eyes Kolya's property, and initiates the process of repossessing it through self-serving legal devices for an undervalued sum.

6.    Meanwhile, Kolya's family life is also in total disarray.

7.    It complicated further by his discontented wife Lilia (Elena Lyadova) and teenage delinquent son Roma (Sergey Pokhodaev), from Kolya's first marriage.

8.    Kolya has friends of various social standing, but they only seem to care for his talent as a skilled mechanic.

9.    To fight against the injustice of his property being falsely repossessed, Kolya enlists the help of his old army friend Dmitri (Vladimir Vdovichenkov), who now works as a sharp lawyer in Moscow, Russia.

10. Dmitri's legal aid and use of sensitive documents against Mayor Vadim show signs of success with Kolya's problems, and Mayor Vadim starts to back off from his interest in Kolya's property.

11. However, the initial success brought by Dmitri's aid begins to crumble when Lilia and Dmitri start an extramarital affair.

12. Kolya finds out about it and eventually reconciles with his wife.

13. Meanwhile Mayor Vadim goes to his friend, a local Orthodox priest, for spiritual comfort and is ambiguously encouraged to solve his problems by the might of the power he has in his township.

14. This motivates Vadim, and he resolves himself to hire thugs to threaten Dmitri with death if he does not go back to Moscow.

15. Vadim also orders his office workers to go forward in repossessing Kolya's property.

16. Lilia, driven by guilt from Kolya's kindness and forgiveness, commits suicide.

17. Later, Kolya is arrested for the death of Lilia by authorities citing her death as murder committed by her husband.

18. Kolya becomes distraught when he finds out that the charges against him were positively attested by his so-called friends.

19. Subsequently, Kolya is jailed for fifteen years by dodgy friends of Vadim in the Justice system.

20. Kolya's son is taken in by his so-called "friends" (those who have given statements against him) for childcare money.

21. The army buddy-lawyer returns to Moscow and is no longer interested in Kolya's matters.

22. Finally, Kolya's homestead is torn down for Vadim's and the Church's projects.

23. The film concludes with the sermon of Vadim's friend, the local priest, in a new cathedral, which has been built over Kolya's property.

24. The priest, in a paradoxical manner, addresses the congregation to be open to the truth and champion it, because that is true freedom. “If anyone tries to convince you with actions of destruction, hatred and violence justified as interventions with good intentions, those are lies passed off as truth”.

25. When this sermon is delivered, responses from various groups inside the church are shown in a subtle satiric manner.

26. The priest ends the sermon by stating the significance of upholding cardinal virtues in this ever-changing world, and he offers benedictions.

Characters                                             Cast

1.    Kolya                                                  Aleksey Serebryakov

2.    Lilya                                                    Elena Lyadova

3.    Dmitriy Seleznyov-Lawer Friend Vladimir Vdovichenkov

4.    Vadim Shelevyat – mayor              Roman Madyanov

5.    Angela                                               Anna Ukolova

6.    Roman                                               Sergey Pokhodaev 

7.    Pacha                                                            Aleksey Rozin

8.    Devochka v poezde                         Kristina Pakarina

9.    Yulya                                                  Lesya Kudryashova           

10. Arkhierey                                           Valeriy Grishko

11. Otets Vasiliy                                      Igor Sergeev

12. Tkachuk                                             Dmitriy Bykovskiy-Romashov

13. Sledovatel                                         Igor Savochkin

14. Operativnik                                        Sergey Borisov

15. Ivan Degtyareyov                             Sergey Bachurskiy 

a.    Leviathan (Russian: Левиафан) is a 2014 Russian drama film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, co-written by Zvyagintsev and Oleg Negin, and starring Aleksei Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, and Vladimir Vdovichenkov.

b.    According to Zvyagintsev, the story of Marvin Heemeyer in the United States inspired him and it was adapted into a Russian setting,

c.    But critics compare the story to the more similar biblical story of Naboth's Vineyard, where a King vies for his subjects' land and is motivated by his Queen to obtain it in a sly manner.

d.    The character development of the protagonist Kolya parallels another biblical figure, Job.

e.    The producer Alexander Rodnyansky has said: "It deals with some of the most important social issues of contemporary Russia while never becoming an artist's sermon or a public statement; it is a story of love and tragedy experienced by ordinary people".

f.     Critics noted the film as being formidable, dealing with quirks of fate, power and money.