FATHER AND SON - DVD review

"A father's love crucifies."
"A loving son lets himself be crucified."

Aleksandr Sokurov's "Father and Son" is a follow-up to his 1997 film, "Mother and Son," and the difference between the two films is reflected in their respective titles; the mother is missing. Fatherless families are commonplace in most societies, for obvious reasons. Motherless families are less common, but the pain felt by the surviving family members is just as real.

The film opens with a wildly erotic scene of two naked men embracing each other in bed. One is having a nightmare. The other hugs him close and caresses his face, telling him everything is all right. At first blush, they appear to be gay lovers, but we soon learn that they are, in fact, father (Andrei) and son (Alexei.) It's a startling way to introduce a father and son, and inspired much controversy during the film's debut at Cannes. Sokurov, for his part, vigorously denies any homoerotic implications, suggesting such an interpretation is a uniquely Western one.

Whether or not the film is homoerotically charged, it rapidly becomes clear that Andrei and Alexei share an unusually intense bond. Alexei is a young man, about twenty, approaching the time when he must strike out on his own. However, he clings to his father, and lives at home, even though he has joined the military for medical training. Andrei, in turn, holds close to his son, waking him from his nightmares, and constantly telling him how much he loves him. They spend a lot of time walking around bare-chested (both are amazing physical specimens) and sharing long, soulful looks together.

Such an intimate bond between father and son may seem a bit unusual to many viewers, and may even cause some people to feel uncomfortable. I think the intimacy can be explained by the fact that the mother is dead, and each man sees a part of her in the other. Andrei makes this crystal clear later in the film when he tells his son, "You look so much like your mother." Alexei, in turn, sees his father as his only remaining connection to his mother, and perhaps his only connection to his childhood.

I can identify with this situation. My mother died when I was 21, and I (an only child) was left alone with my father in our house. We got along well together but the situation was still awkward. I had just graduated college and needed to start my life, yet I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my father alone. It seemed an unspeakably cruel thing to do. Would my mother ever forgive me if I let my father suffer alone while I pursued my own selfish goals? Clearly, Alexei feels the same way.

My greatest fear was that my father might die. I thought I could deal with anything in life except that worst of all possible scenarios. Alexei shares a similar fear. He spends a lot of time looking at his father's chest X-ray. At one point, he happily notes, "There were no spots on your lungs." However, he still fears something is wrong. The father's performance supports the suspicion that something black and malignant lingers under his perfectly muscled body ("Muscles are an exaggeration," notes Alexei, as he stares at the X-ray.)

The son sums up his fears best in one line spoken to his father from off-camera: "Just don't die." I remember thinking that a thousand times about my father. No matter what else, just don't die. Having lost his mother, Alexei knows just there's no reason his father can't be taken from him as well, and this is why he clings so closely to him.

Eventually, Alexei realizes he has to leave. When his father wonders how it will feel to be alone, Alexei says he is certain that Andrei will remarry. Andrei smiles and thanks him, and it's clear that he was waiting for his son to give him permission before he even considered such a possibility. It's the finest gift the son could give to his father, and an even greater testament to the love they share. Mom must have done a pretty good job.

There is little traditional narrative in "Father and Son." A friend shows up, the son and the friend take a trolley ride, and there's a faithless girlfriend who breaks Alexei's heart. The film, however, constantly returns to the titular characters and their hermetic world. They live in an upper-floor apartment, and their existence seems largely restricted to the rooftop where the father lifts weights and the two play soccer, always perilously close to plunging to their deaths, but maintaining balance by holding onto one another when they need support.

The film is bathed in orange and brown tones which sometimes threaten to swallow up both characters and scenery, reducing them to mere splashes of autumnal color. Much of the dialogue is recorded with an eerie echo, seeming to come from somewhere outside and above the characters, even when we see them speaking. Many shots are slightly distorted and shot just a bit off-angle. Background objects often appear unnaturally large and menacing. The net result is that the film feels like a dream, or at least a half-dream. It's difficult to describe the effect, only to note that is profoundly beautiful. It's tempting, in fact, to ignore any attempt at narrative or thematic interpretation, and simply let the images and sounds wash over you. Sokurov is far more interested in poetry than in narrative logic.

It's easy to compare Sokurov to Andrei Tarkovsky, if only for the fact that they're both Russian filmmakers with a lyrical bent. I think the more apt comparison, in this case, is to Ingmar Bergman. The close quarters, intimate compositions, and the dreamy, stilted dialogue about existential matters bring to mind several scenes from "Cries and Whispers" as well as other Bergman films.

"Father and Son" isn't suited to everyone's tastes. It moves slowly (but runs at a crisp 83 minutes) and the elliptical images and lack of a coherent narrative may leave some viewers confused or frustrated. If you're open to the foreign art-house experience, though, I highly recommend it, even if only for its sheer beauty. It's a mature, insightful, and deeply moving portrait of paternal and filial love. Some critics seemed to consider this a minor Sokurov film (I disagree!) but even minor Sokurov is essential viewing.

VIDEO:

The DVD is presented in 1:85:1 Anamorphic aspect ratio. It is difficult to assess the quality of the video since the color scheme is so skewed and many shots are intentionally distorted. As far as I could tell, the picture looked great, and the transfer was clean and professional. It certainly looks beautiful so I have no complaints about the picture quality.

AUDIO:

The DVD is presented in Dolby Surround and Dolby 5.1 Digital Audio. I don't speak Russian but, to my ear, the dialogue sounded clear, as did the music track. Optional English language subtitles support the audio.

EXTRAS:

The DVD only offers a few minor extras, including two Sokurov trailers and a photo gallery which offers little of interest. There's also a promotional offer for a ten percent discount at an online DVD store.

The liner notes include an essay by the always engaging Armond White, a critic never shy about sharing his often radical opinion on any film. White's essay is persuasive and informative, though he seems to enjoy comparing Sokurov to virtually every other director he can think of, including Tarkovksy, Dreyer, Eisenstein, Murnau, Fassbinder, and Bergman. What, no room for Michael Bay?

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

I managed to write the entire review without once referring to "Russian Ark," Sokurov's previous film, and one of the masterpieces of the young millennium. Unlike the intimate "Father and Son," it is a triumph of technical virtuosity featuring a cast of thousands. In case you don't know the story, "Russian Ark" was a ninety-minute feature filmed entirely in a single, unbroken shot. In that shot, the camera travels through over thirty rooms of the Hermitage Museum (cameraman Tilman Buttner walked over a mile during the shot) and the movie spans several hundred years of Russian history. All in one shot!

If you haven't seen "Russian Ark" yet, please do yourself a favor and check out one of the most remarkable accomplishments in cinema history. Like "Father and Son," it is available on DVD from Wellspring.