Leviathan

When a small town fisherman takes the local council to court to prevent the compulsory acquisition of his land, it’s the kind of underdog story that we in the west tend to assume will have a happy ending. Not in today’s Russia it doesn’t, and what follows is an utterly compelling look at the way evil – in the form of corruption, blackmail, violence, and a society where the rule of law is nothing but a long-winded pretence – wins out with ruthless efficiency. Director Andrey Zvyagintsev (The Return) pulls no punches in this devastating look at Russian society, but this is never preachy or heavy-handed. Instead, it slowly and carefully shows when a man’s downfall as one act of defiance – more standing up against authority – gradually snowballs and crushes everything before it. This is shattering film-making.