sweeneytom

Loveless

I was born part of a broken family. The cracks showed more visibly the older I got, but they were always there nonetheless. It's not something I've tended to get emotional thinking or talking about not because it's not devastating, it's just because it's what I've always known. Many things I saw on display on Loveless were not just familiar, but indicative of my whole life with the people I've loved most: a marriage at the point of ruin, a lack of love, arguments a daily routine, at least one of the two constantly talking about regrets, both going out of their way to not try to fix the (any) situation because it might mean having to fix themselves too, and a kid caught in the middle thinking it's all his fault and maybe things would be better without him around The latter is by no means a thought exclusive to me or to the kid in Loveless. Whether it's from seeing stuff online or just hearing from other friends, whether it's about a divorce (mostly this) or another conflict one's caught in the middle of, it's not uncommon to blame yourself for things going wrong. It's a thing I still experience often, blaming myself whenever even the slightest inconvenience occurs to someone I care about, thinking it's my fault and things would be better if I weren't around (them or in general). I've tried to tell myself for years that's a habit that'll go away in time. I don't really believe that anymore, but I still tell it In Loveless, two fucked up people (I don't say that completely out of judgment, by the way. We're all fucked up in some way, the last two paragraphs have been me saying in a lot of words that I'm fucked up too, so please don't think I'm generalizing that "divorcing" = "fucked up" = bad), in an argument divorcing people tend to have, step a bit far out of line and discuss the kid they have that neither seemed to want. The kid overhears, in the most heartbreaking scene early on where he's a sobbing mess in a bathroom Life goes on. The next day, mom and dad go to work. Mom and dad come back from work to separate buildings with the new people they've already moved on to, and they fuck said new people. They fuck like there's nothing else in the world going on, they fuck like there's all the time in the world. They fuck like they're kids again. They fuck like they're happy again. Are they? Are they capable of happiness again? The next day, dad goes to work. He's interrupted in the cafe by a call from mom who says the kid never showed up to school yesterday, and still hasn't today. She never noticed because she went straight home from fucking the new man to going to bed, and didn't bother to check if her son was home; she lies about that. He never noticed because he went straight to his new place to fuck the new woman (who he's already impregnated) and went to bed immediately after, not bothering to call to check up on the kid after school; he lies about that Interviews happen. Investigations happen. More arguments happen. And then...life goes on Life goes on. The mom moves on fully to her new relationship...with another man she's still unsure she really loves at best, still doubtful she wants to spend forever with (if "forever" is a concept she even has faith in) at least. The dad moves on fully to his new relationship...with another woman he's a bit distant to and a new son he still treats unsympathetically, like he's a cruel annoyance. And the police force is still understaffed, and they and the volunteer patrols are still unable to provide as many bodies or as many resources as are needed to find missing individuals. And it still snows as hard as it did that winter the search for the missing kid reached its peak The cycle continues in every way. If it ended, would it still be a cycle?

Codeliusthe2nd

Loveless

It's difficult to be part of the film community and not know who Andrey Zvyagintsev is. Granted, while having not seen any of his films, it's a known fact that his films conjure one thing - bleakness. Loveless is the perfect title for this film, as there absolutely is no love, just a bleak look at life and the outcomes of rash decisions. Zvyagintsey keeps the film tight, never moving from a scene too quickly, while not rushing any of the characters, leaving each scene hanging on for what seems to be an eternity before cutting to the next scene. The characterizations here are stunning, each and every character different and unique, but still manages to have a common thread of a rather emotionless performance until the film's climax. Loveless seems to be the perfect title for this film, as the film is seeping with a sense of bleakness and a lack of warmth, especially shown while contrasted against the chilling landscape shots. Having absolutely no idea what this film was going to be like, there weren't many expectations, but this film certainly managed to be nothing but impressive. Zvyagintsey is a director definitely to watch out for, since this film was not only visually stunning, but an interesting look at various characters going through real life, all the while severely lacking emotion. Needless to say, Loveless is one of the most impressive films of the year and certainly deserves to be considered for the best Foreign Language film of the year, since it truly is the year's best that I've seen.