The Banishment
| The Banishment | |
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Russian poster
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| Directed by | Andrey Zvyagintsev |
| Produced by | Dmitri Lesnevsky |
| Screenplay by |
Artyom Melkumian Oleg Negin |
| Based on |
The Laughing Matter by William Saroyan |
| Starring |
Konstantin Lavronenko Maria Bonnevie Aleksandr Baluev |
| Music by |
Andrei Dergachyov Arvo Pärt |
| Cinematography | Mikhail Krichman |
| Edited by | Anna Mass |
| Distributed by | Intercinema XXI Century |
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Release date
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Running time
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157 minutes |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
The Banishment (Russian: Изгнание, Izgnanie) is a 2007 Russian film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. The film is a loose adaptation of The Laughing Matter, a 1953 novel by Armenian-American writer William Saroyan. It stars Konstantin Lavronenko and Maria Bonnevie.
The film premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d'Or. Lavronenko won the Best Actor award at the festival. It was released in Russian cinemas on 2 October 2007. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Alex (Konstantin Lavronenko) brings his wife Vera (Maria Bonnevie) and two children for a trip to his childhood home in the countryside. The tranquillity of the countryside is broken when Vera tells Alex that she is pregnant. He believes that this baby is not his. The rift between the couple grows but the two try to keep up appearances in the presence of their children and the old friends that visit them.
Alex is unsure about what to do and turns to his brother Mark (Aleksandr Baluyev) for advice. On the way to meet Mark at the train station, Alex's son Kir (Maksim Shibayev) reveals that Alex's friend Robert (Dmitri Ulyanov) was at their house one day while Alex was away for work. Alex concludes that Robert is the baby's father.
Vera feels estranged from her husband, and fears that Kir will follow in Alex and Mark's criminal footsteps. In the film's opening scene, Mark comes to Alex's house for help removing a bullet from his arm.
In the end, Alex forces Vera to have an abortion hoping they will be able to re-build their relationship and save their marriage once this unborn baby is out of the way. While their children are at a friend's house, he gets Mark to find a doctor to perform the procedure. After the abortion Vera commits suicide by overdosing on pain relieving medication. Alex and Mark rush the funeral formalities as gossip spreads quickly in the countryside. After returning home from the funeral parlour, Mark has a serious heart attack. Against the advice of the doctor, he attends Vera's funeral but dies before he and his brother return home.
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Wikipedia