Elena

GREAT MOVIES: Andrei Zvygintsev's Elena (Russia, 2011) - 2011CANucr Special Jury Prize Winner. Like the younger son in The Return (2003), who freezes in fear at the top of a tower rather than jumping off a tower into a lake to join his friends, and the husband in The Banishment (2007), torn between whether or not to shoot his best friend who he believes impregnated his late wife, the title character in Zvyagintsev’s third feature is caught between a rock and a hard place. A late addition to Un Certain Regard, for which it is the closing night film, one can only wonder, why is this extraordinary film not in the main competition?. 2011CANUcr, 2011TOR, 2012PALM, 2012SEA, 2012SUN. RATING: 9.