The Banishment

2018 • 157 minutes

About this movie

Andrey Zvyagintsev (Loveless, Leviathan) proffers an ambitious exploration of the human condition in his second feature. Much like his critically acclaimed debut The Return, the film investigates bonds of family, this time tackling the relationship between a husband and wife. A trip to the pastoral countryside reveals a dark, sinister reality for a family from the city. Eschewing easy answers and tackling a wide array of themes, The Banishment poetically renders the persistent human state of exile from our surroundings. Based on the novel The Laughing Matter by William Saroyan.

Ratings and reviews

A+++. Similar to Leviathan and Loveless, this is a great movie. World class acting, interesting story, original, beautiful country side scenes. Given his success with Leviathan, Loveless, and this movie, I think this director might be the Russian Ingmar Bergman. His movies are quite original, brainy, and do not look like anything anyone has seen before.