Ms. Hen reviews Elena

Elena

Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev

2012

Ms. Hen likes quirky foreign films, but she does not review everything she watches. She decided to write this review because she was moved by ELENA and the characters and how messed up their lives are. Ms. Hen does not like desperate and hopeless books and films, but she likes learning about how truly demented humanity can be.

Elena is a retired nurse who lives with her new husband, Vladimir, in their spacious apartment in Moscow. He is a former businessman who has a lot of money. Their apartment is large and clean, but it seems as if it’s too clean. Elena goes to visit her son and his family; the son is unemployed, and he and his wife have two children. They live in a downtrodden area where thugs loiter outside the apartment. Elena gives her son money. When Elena cashes her pension check and takes it to her son, Ms. Hen was afraid for her walking around in a dangerous area, because she thought she would get mugged. Elena didn’t, though, because that is not the story. Ms. Hen thinks it is interesting to see how Russians handle money; it appears they mostly use cash, unlike in the United States.

Elena’s husband does not want to give her grandson money so he can get out of joining the army and go to college. Elena and he fight over his daughter, who she says is worthless and money-hungry. Vladimir wants to leave all his money to his daughter when he dies.

This film is artfully made. Ms. Hen has seen other Russian films and the lines do not appear as clean as they are in this one. The story shows the disparity between the classes in Russia today, there are some who prosper, and others who have little. And the ones who have a lot do not care about the people on the bottom. Vladimir is greedy, but Elena’s son and his family are either lazy or victims of circumstance. There are few opportunities in Russia today if a person does not have money or connections. Ms. Hen feels sorry for Elena’s son’s family.

The use of music in ELENA is done well. The scene where Vladimir is driving to the gym, then when he is at the gym is ominous with the soundtrack in the background; Ms. Hen knew something horrible would happen, and it did. Also, the music in the scene where the grandson, Sasha, is outside fighting with the young men is poignant and dramatic. Almost everything in ELENA is meaningful, which is the way movies are supposed to be made. Ms. Hen thinks this film could be considered Russian noir, and the music plays a part in that.

There are aspects to life in this film which are completely Russian, which Ms. Hen will not give away, because she does not want to ruin the surprise of the story. Ms. Hen couldn’t help but think, that would not happen in the United States, a few times when she watched this, or the character would behave differently if she were American. This film shows the chaos of Russian society.

This is a dark film, but Ms. Hen likes these kinds of things. Desperate people will do desperate things when faced with limited choices. Ms. Hen thinks that this film is centered on love and hate and indifference and power, which Ms. Hen thinks could be the basis for all art, and the reasons the world is still turning and disintegrating.