Line #47 Film/TheReturn2003


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_return_7551.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:280:There are actually ''three'' main characters in this movie, but this image only shows two of them: [[TheMcCoy Ivan]] (left) and [[WellDoneSonGuy Andrei]] (right). Their father, [[ParentalAbandonment as usual]], is nowhere to be seen.]]
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4	A 2003 Russian film directed by Creator/AndreyZvyagintsev, ''The Return'' tells the story of two brothers -- 15-year-old Andrei and 13-year-old Ivan -- and the fishing trip they take with their father. Oh, did we mention that the father has been absent from their lives for the past 12 years and abruptly returned the previous day under somewhat vague and shady circumstances?
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6	The two brothers are initially excited at finally being able to get to know their Dad. Ivan, however, quickly begins to develop second thoughts (possibly thanks to his mother's grave composure at both the father's return and at the upcoming trip). These second thoughts give way to hostility and fear as the generic fishing trip turns into a lengthy quest to a remote, mysterious island. What is so special about this island? Does their father have ulterior motives? Is he a criminal? Did their mother know what he was really up to before okaying the trip? Are their lives in danger? The brothers debate these questions amongst themselves up until the film's climax.
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8	As interesting as these questions are, the movie is less concerned about them and more interested in using them to explore the dynamics of father-son relationships. This was a subject very close to the heart of the director, whose own father disappeared from his life when he was a child. There ''is'' a story, mind you, but this is one of those cases where plot takes a backseat to theme.
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10	----
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12	!!This Film Contains Examples Of:
13	%%* AbusiveParents
14	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: In-Universe Example. Andrei and Ivan debate the true motives (and even the actual identity) of their so-called father. [[spoiler:We never do learn which brother was correct]].
15	* AudienceSurrogate: Both of the brothers; they're as much in the dark as we, the viewers, are.
16	* AxCrazy: Possibly. [[spoiler:It could be that the father was trying to give them another tough life lesson (which he had been doing all throughout the movie) rather than trying to kill them.]]
17	* CallingTheOldManOut: Ivan and (eventually) Andrei do this.
18	* TheCassandra: Since [[spoiler:we never know Father's true nature]], either Andrei or Ivan can be viewed as this, although Ivan is a far more overt example.
19	* CharacterDevelopment: In the third act, both brothers are the opposite of how they were in the opening; Ivan is willing to stand up to things and people that scare him; Andrei becomes a leader and acts more mature, confident, and responsible.
20	%%* ComingOfAgeStory
21	* DecoyProtagonist: Ivan. According to [[WordOfGod the producer]], Andrei is the ''real'' star of the film. Ivan just overshadows him until the last 20 minutes.
22	%%* DisappearedDad
23	%%* DisneyVillainDeath: Father.
24	* ExtremeDoormat: Andrei [[spoiler:pre-character development.]]
25	%%* FreudianTrio
26	%%** Ivan is TheMcCoy
27	%%** Father is TheSpock
28	%%** Andrei is TheKirk
29	* GainaxEnding: Very subtle as far as this trope goes. [[spoiler:Father is no longer in the family picture at the end of the story, taking the movie from realism to pure allegory.]]
30	* IronicEcho: "With [y]our little hands."
31	%%* LeFilmArtistique
32	%%* MacGuffin: The box.
33	* MessianicArchetype:
34	** The script deliberately gives Father several parallels with Jesus (how he appears in his very first scene, his mention of having eaten a lot of fish once, his possibly acting as TheParagon, [[spoiler:the GainaxEnding revealing that he may have been a supernatural being,]] etc.); heck, the film's very ''title'' could be a reference to the Christian belief of the Second Coming.
35	** Curiously, the film also goes out of its way to ''contrast'' the two (Father getting angry at Ivan and Andrei for forgiving a bully, his lying to them about the length of the trip, the way he lustfully gazes at a passing woman's bottom, and so on).
36	%%* MinimalistCast
37	%%* MommasBoy: Ivan
38	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone
39	** [[spoiler:Ivan, after Father falls off the tower.]]
40	** [[spoiler:Possibly Father, during the chase scene. He arguably comes across as someone who has just realized that things have gotten out of hand and is now trying to clear things up.]]
41	* MysteriousPast: Father and, to a lesser extent, Mother.
42	* NoNameGiven: All of the characters except Ivan and Andrei
43	%%* ParentalAbandonment
44	* TheParagon: Andrei's theory on Father's motives.
45	* PeerPressureMakesYouEvil: Well, it makes you stand by and do nothing while your friends humiliate your distraught little brother.
46	%%* PerpetualFrowner: Father
47	* PromotionToParent: [[spoiler:Andrei, during the final 20-minutes of the film]].
48	%%* RoadMovie
49	%%* SceneryPorn
50	* ToughLove: Again, Andrei's theory on Father [[spoiler:until Andrei finally hits his breaking point]].
51	%%* TrainingFromHell
52	%%* TheUnfavorite: Ivan
53	* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:What was in that box? What was Father up to? Why did he involve the boys? Did he commit a crime? Was he even really their father? All of these questions get some build-up, and '''none''' of them are ever answered.]]
54	* WellDoneSonGuy: Andrei towards Father

Context Film / TheReturn2003