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Nadezhda Markina, Andrei Smirnov, Yelena Lyadova, Alexey Rozin, Evgenia Konushkina ... see more see more... , Igor Ogurtsov , Vasiliy Michkiv , Alexey Maslodudov , Andrey Smirnov , Miguel Alcaraz , Héctor Álvarez , Elsa Cardenas , Diana Carranza , Mario Humberto Chavez

Winner of Cannes' Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize, Elena is a gripping, modern twist on the classic noir thriller. Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir and Elena uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartmen... read more read more...t-he's a still-virile, wealthy businessman; she's his dowdy former nurse who has clearly "married up." Estranged from his own wild-child daughter, Vladimir openly despises his wife's freeloading son and family. But when a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife's potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan.... Masterfully crafted by award-winning Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev (Golden Globe nominee The Return) and featuring evocative, Hitchcockian music by Philip Glass, Elena is a subtly stylish exploration of crime, punishment and human nature. -- (C) Zeitgeist

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74% liked it

514 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

22 critics

PG, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Andrei Zvyagintsev, Llorent Barajas

Release Date: May 16, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (41)

  • blacksheepboy
    March 16, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    An intriguing drama of fascinating moral complexity and ambiguity. Through an elegant direction that uses many long shots, it efficiently presents the everyday life of the main character and the drastic choices she decides to make in view of some difficult circumstances.
  • gator681
    May 20, 2012
    gator681
    Vladimir(Andrei Smirnov) has been married to Elena(Nadezhda Markina), a former nurse, for the past couple of years. Since he is wealthy, she need not ask for anything material, giving her pension to her unemployed son Sergei(Alexey Rozin), so he can support his family which now ... read moreincludes a newborn child. Actually, there is one thing she can ask him and that is to pay for her grandson Sasha(Igor Ogurtsov) to go to university, so that he does not get drafted and a one way ticket to Ossetia. When Vladimir hesitates, she challenges him by bringing up his wayward daughter Katerina(Yelana Lyadova). Regardless, he says he will think about it.

    On the surface, "Elena" has a story that is not dissimilar from any number of movies I could name. What makes the difference here is the skillful filmmaking with its shifting viewpoints in exploring the class differences in modern day Russia and the resultant moral decay. And one could say Elena's slide begins with the small step of lighting a candle for Vladimir in a church whose beliefs she does not share. On the other hand, maybe she does the wrong things for the right reasons except we are never quite clear which brings up some very interesting questions. Is Sergei actively looking for work or is he just lazy? Would Sasha ending up in the army be the worst thing for him? There is one conversation that sheds light on this between Vladimir and Katerina(who I like for this, no matter what else she may have done in her life) where she makes a great case for not having children since she would just screw them up, not make her a better person which many people would have you think. And a lot of that goes to my belief of how selfish being a parent can be which gets nicely reinforced here.
  • mvieaddict
    February 10, 2012
    mvieaddict
    Russian director and screenwriter Andrei Zvyagintsev film, Elena, was the story about Elena, a former nurse who married a wealthy man Vladimir, but their marriage became cold due to money problems .Elena's unemployed son Sergey from her previous marriage needed financial support ... read moreand Elena asked Vladimir to help him. He was not willing to help and after he got a heart attack he made his daughter Katya his only heiress what complicated the situation for Elena.This slow-paced and character-driven drama about a woman who wants to help her son,brought out the struggle for love and how this caused distance between people. With marvelous camera movements, dark backgrounds and intimate portrayals of Russian family relations, Andrei Zvyagintsev created a great realism film with exceptional scenes.
  • fb500011183
    May 19, 2012
    fb500011183
    Class-ridden, alienated, nihilistic 21st century Russian parable - and not even filmed in winter! A bit too static - it's one of those movies I liked better afterwards than when I was watching it.

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Critic Reviews

Stanley Kauffmann
May 25, 2012
Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic

Naturalism lives. If Zola were a Russian in Russia today, he might have written Elena. Full Review

Sheri Linden
May 24, 2012
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times

Performances are superb across the board, framed in elegant widescreen compositions that simmer with violence. Full Review

Richard Brody
May 21, 2012
Richard Brody, New Yorker

[A] sluggish, portentous melodrama... Full Review

V.A. Musetto
May 18, 2012
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

'Elena" is a grim, somber portrait of life in Putin's Russia, where the haves and have-nots uneasily co-exist. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
May 17, 2012
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

The truly terrible question asked by this quiet, haunting and magnificent film is: Dear God, isn't there some better way to live? Full Review

Ella Taylor
May 17, 2012
Ella Taylor, NPR

Deeper down, the movie seethes quietly with the moody influence of other East European masters of the timeless ineffable. Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 15, 2012
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Post-Soviet Russia in Andrei Zvyagintsev's somber, gripping film "Elena" is a moral vacuum where money rules, the haves are contemptuous of the have-nots, and class resentment simmers. Full Review

Nick Pinkerton
May 15, 2012
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice

The cautious, controlling, abstemious bourgeoisie are overtaken by the heedlessly fertile lower orders, the temporary inheritors of a terribly weary earth. Full Review

Laura Clifford
May 27, 2012
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews

...has more in common with Chantal Akerman's "Jeanne Dielman" [than "The Return"] imbued with a Russian male perspective on today's dog eat dog world, a breakdown of societal morality. Full Review

Ron Wilkinson
May 24, 2012
Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics

Legendary Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev creates a great film noir. Full Review

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Elena Trivia

  • Which actress plays Elena on Zoro?  Answer »
  • She was in the Terminal, Oceans Twelve, and she played Elena de la Vega.  Answer »
  • After Elena (Poseidon) hit her head on a sharp metal object that caused it to bleed and go on concience...why did Robert do CPR instead of cure her head?  Answer »
  • What actress has played these characters: Theo, Helen Ayala, Elena Montero, Virginia Baker, and Amelia Warren?   Answer »
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