Superb Cannes winner 'Elena' gets a new trailer and poster
Andrei Zvyagintsev's fine-cut moral drama will also play Sundance 2012
Detail from the international poster of Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Elena."
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[UPDATE: The film has indeed secured US distribution.] Since a few of you have been asking, my Best of 2011 list will go up on December 26 -- and for regular readers of my festival coverage over the year, I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say this film will be on it. "Elena," the third feature from Andrei Zvyagintsev ("The Return"), premiered at Cannes, inexplicably in the Un Certain Regard section rather than in Competition, where the director's lesser sophomore film did get a berth. Still, it won a Special Jury Prize and a slew of critical raves, while star Nadezhda Markina was recently nominated at the European Film Awards, so it all comes out in the wash.
"Elena" played Toronto in the fall; and is set to pop up again at Sundance next month -- Zeitgeist Pictures will release the film Stateside in May. (It was one of the quality films cheated out of an Oscar play when Russia questionably selected the critical and commercial failure "Burnt by the Sun 2" as its foreign-language submission.) It's a brilliantly equivocal, morally fragile fable of guilt and obligation, drawn with the stark elegance of a Chekhov short story; I'll enthuse more in a couple of days, but for now, a brand-new trailer and exquisite poster are after the jump. (Thanks to Palace Films.)
For more views on movies, awards season and other pursuits, follow @GuyLodge on Twitter.
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2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best Production Design
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Foreign Language Film
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December 22, 2011 at 6:22PM EST Reply to CommentLooks highly interesting. It was on my (long) list of films I'm looking forward to since your reaction from Cannes. Is the trailer's music part of Philip Glass' Score? Sounds very much like him and I like it.
Guy Lodge Yes, it is.
December 22, 2011 at 6:25PM ESTCde.
December 22, 2011 at 6:56PM EST Reply to CommentIs it better than The Return? That was a good debut but I felt it was too mannered and a bit empty.
Voland I'll have to go further. Didn't like The Return at all. And this trailer for Elena doesn't get me excited either.
December 22, 2011 at 7:13PM ESTGuy Lodge I think it's better than The Return, yes -- subtler, wittier, more fragile. And I think The Return is terrific.
December 22, 2011 at 7:15PM ESTJLPatt
December 22, 2011 at 6:58PM EST Reply to CommentWill look out for it. "The Return" is one of the best films of the 00s, I think. Anyone who hasn't seen it must do so.
paul
December 22, 2011 at 8:22PM EST Reply to Commenthi, the film was recently picked up for US distribution by Zeigeist Films. yay.
Guy Lodge Thanks, updated.
December 22, 2011 at 8:27PM ESTvia collins
December 22, 2011 at 9:17PM EST Reply to CommentImagine that trailer without the persuasive forward motion of Glass' music?
He sure has earnt his fee with that job, looks great.
Thanks for sharing Guy.
Matthew Starr
December 22, 2011 at 11:13PM EST Reply to CommentFor anyone in the NY area the Museum of Moving Image is having a pretty cool series coming soon in January. This will play there among others,
http://www.movingimage.us/films/2012/01/06/detail/first-look/
Mykill
December 23, 2011 at 1:24AM EST Reply to CommentWow! Add that towards the top of my want-to-see list for 2012. So excited to hear it has secured US distribution but I'm bummed I'll have to wait until May to see it. I'm sure it will be worth it though as I'm a HUGE fan of The Return and this looks just as compelling and tense.
Also- can't wait for your best of the year list Guy!
seasondays
December 23, 2011 at 2:16AM EST Reply to Commentgreat news ... i was lucky enough to caught it in a film festival and it quickly became one of my favorite films of this year
GlennAU
December 23, 2011 at 3:27AM EST Reply to CommentPoster designed by local Carnival Studios :)
Dooby
December 23, 2011 at 1:38PM EST Reply to CommentThis was very confidently directed with alot of control and Nadehzda was brilliant - but it ultimately left me cold. I don't know, maybe it is my lack of knowledge of Russian culture and class structures but I couldn't quite figure out what it was trying to say...