Like Paris, Texas, The Return deals with the consequences of the sudden reappearance of a father, this time taking the perspective of the abandoned children. To fifteen-year-old Andrey (Vladimir Garin) and his younger brother Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov), their father (Konstantin Lavronenko) is a mythic figure known only through the stories of others. He brings the children on a fishing trip to a remote island, but while Andrey delights in the reunion, Ivan remains wary of their father’s awkward and combative attempts at connection. As the man’s disciplinarian tendencies come to the fore, a rift forms between the brothers.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of the IFI’s Odysseys season throughout July.

Tickets for 70mm screenings of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey on sale now!