I love this movie!

I was in Professor Isham's Heritage class, so this was my second time viewing the film. During the second viewing it was interesting to watch the action play out, knowing what the ending was. For me, the moment when the Father is desperately crawling up the side of the lighthouse is absolutely heart-stopping. When he fell the first time, I just kind of gaped at the screen, but the second time I lost it. It's a very sad, moving movie, and I think it's a great work of film.

Zyvaginstev uses many Tarkovsky-esque techniques. From the one Tarkovsky film we watched, I was able to recognize similarities between the two directors. The book that Ivan finds the picture of his father hidden within, curiously resembles a book that the little boy in Mirror looked through, especially the light, what looked like tissue paper, that separate the pages. Also, Zyvaginstev plays with different shots of water dripping and of the dying embers of a fire, both of which are used in Mirror. In the end of Mirror, the camera starts moving farther back into the trees, giving the viewer the feeling of walking backwards, and at the end of The Return, an almost identical shot is repeated.

Despite all the similarities, The Return has a few of its own unique flairs. One interesting aspect of the film was the fact that the father would say something, or do an action, and it would be repeated by Andrey at the end of the film, after his death. For the majority of the movie, Ivan seems to be superior to Andrey, despite the fact that Andrey is the older one. Ivan is easily able to convince Andrey into doing things he may not have otherwise done. Once their father dies, however, Andrey steps up and becomes the one who keeps them going, directing Ivan in the necessary steps that they must do to get home. Andrey mimicking lines that the father said or actions that the father did puts Andrey in the shoes of the paternal role, and he maintains that for the brief amount of film left. For instance, once Andrey decides they need to move their father, he comes up with a plan to use evergreen branches. His lines "get the axe" and "with our little hands" are both lines that the father said in an earlier portion of the film, and the evergreen branches were used to help the father get the car out of the mud. I believe Andrey even repeats a line about Ivan taking his shoes off that was said to Ivan by the father previously.

Andrey's conversion into a character similar to his father may also simply show how much Andrey was fascinated by his father. The two different reactions of the boys towards the return of their dad is fascinating to watch. Andrey almost seems to worship the very words that come from his mouth, and maybe this could explain yet another reason why the director decided to utilize that technique.

I apologize if I wrote a bit too much, but I love this film. It's a masterpiece and I hope to watch it many more times, even if it makes me cry.