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Review: Elena (Елена) (2011)
This is yet another Andrey Zvyagintsev film, as I have been making my way through his filmography. I liked this one (definitely more than the Banishment), but I think I would've liked it even more if it was a bit longer.
This was a pretty short movie, less than 2 hours long, and I felt that there was still more to say when it ended. But it still ended at a logical place and I would still recommend this movie as an interesting drama film.
Spoilers.
Story
I think this story is unambiguously about class differences. Elena and Vladimir (called Volodya) were married, but Elena was from a lower class background. She always did what she could to help her son, even if he was maybe a deadbeat, and Volodya kept telling her off for doing so.
It got so bad that Volodya planned to cut Elena out of his will and to leave only an annuity to her. That worried Elena, and she swapped out Volodya's medicine for viagra to kill him. Volodya passing away intestate meant that the inheritance would have a bigger chance of being split evenly between Elena and Volodya's daughter Katya.
At the end of the movie, Elena was still living in Volodya's fancy apartment, and she had her son's family move in. The movie ended with them relaxing around the TV.
During the movie, I was already wondering whether this was going to be a Parasite-like movie. I was questioning whether Elena was with Volodya for love or for the money. At one point in the movie, I think that Volodya even calls Katya a parasite because he thinks she just talks to him for the money.
I wasn't really sure what we were supposed to get from that scene when the power went out in Sergei's apartment flat and some kids went to a fight. Perhaps it was supposed to tell us what a dangerous life they lived, seeing death so close to them.
The story is pretty simple, but I think what's important is the interactions between the characters and how they'd become the people they were. I'm going to have a lot more to say about this movie in the characters and themes section, so stay tuned.
Production
This movie reminded me a lot of Loveless in terms of both the story telling structure and how the settings looked on camera.
The acting was pretty good. I recognized Elena Lyadova, the actress for Katya, from Leviathan, and I was pleasantly surprised by how different her character was, so I am definitely liking this actress.
The direction style was also great as usual from Zvyagintsev. He does a lot of showing, not telling, so I felt like I wasn't overly spoonfed, nor was I left in the dark about what was happening.
Characters
Elena
Elena was our main character. She came from a working class background. She had been working as a nurse, and was probably the breadwinner for her family, seeing as how her son and daughter-in-law didn't have much going on for them. When she married Volodya, you could say that her new job was Volodya's caretaker. In the opening scenes, the only indication that Elena and Volodya had a romantic relationship was when they kissed. Otherwise, Elena slept in a different bed, and she serviced him like a servant.
The one thing Elena would not budge on was her son. She would give part of her pension money to her son, and she was also worried that her grandson would have to enlist if he couldn't get into university. I admit that I shared Volodya's mindset when I felt that Sergei and his family weren't very productive. That's probably me talking from a place of privilege though. And that didn't change the fact that they were Elena's blood and she wanted to help them.
Elena and Katya didn't have a great relationship, but at least it was honest. Between Elena and Katya, Elena cared for Volodya all hours of the day, and it probably annoyed Elena that Volodya was still all over his daughter even though she was hardly an upstanding citizen, a hedonist (though we actually have no idea what it is that Katya does).
When Elena concocted her plan to kill Vladimir, I think she justified it by thinking that she did so much to take care of Volodya, so she was at least worthy of half of it. And at that point, it showed us that Elena's "love" for Volodya was always superficial. Perhaps she was only with Volodya for the money. But we can't deny the fact that Elena took good care of him, making his meals, doing all of his bidding. So was Elena justified in feeling that she was worthy of some of the inheritance even if she wasn't truly in love with him? It's definitely a tricky question.
Elena stole some money from the safe so that even if the inheritance negotiations didn't go well, she'd at least have something to give to Sergei and his family. The movie ended with Sergei's family moving into the fancy apartment, though Elena said that it still wasn't settled whether she would keep the apartment.
In my opinion, Elena was a person who put survival first. And in many traditional cultures, family is crucial to survival. It was her duty to take care of Sergei. Was it her duty to take care of Volodya? Well, at first it would be, but Volodya made it very clear that Elena's family was not his family, and that's what probably drove her to turn on Volodya. In a perfect world, Volodya would treat Elena's son (his stepson) the same as he did his own daughter, but he did not, and thus Elena did not consider Volodya true family like Sergei was.
In terms of her relationship with Sergei, Elena knew that Sergei and his family was taking advantage of her, but I don't think she minded, especially because she was his mother. Mothers are self sacrificing like that.
I just really enjoyed how Elena, our POV character was not exactly the most upright and noble character. For a quick second I was like "is Elena evil?" but then I realized that no, Elena is just looking out for "her people," which in this case are Sergei and company.
Vladimir/Volodya
Volodya is the rich man in question. He had been in hospital before, where he fell in love with Elena. Based on what we were told, they met 10 years ago but only got married two years ago.
Volodya was very judgmental of Sergei, thinking he was a total deadbeat for not having a job. He also disapproved of his daughter, but was defensive of her when Elena attacked his double standard. Again, we didn't really find out what about Katya bothered Volodya, just that she was a selfish hedonist (allegedly).
Elena had asked Volodya if he could pay for Sasha's university tuition, so that he could enter university and not have to be drafted into the military. That put a really bad taste in Volodya's mouth, and I think it was his fear that his money would go to Sergei that he decided to write in his will that everything would go to Katya except for an annuity for Elena.
He was killed by Elena after she switched his medicine with viagra, which would be dangerous for him after experiencing a heart attack.
Volodya had a big blind spot for his privilege. It was implied that he spent a lot of time making money, so I assume that he didn't just inherit his wealth. He was always thinking that Sergei should fend for himself, not realizing that people, especially those in lower social standing, need to rely on their families for financial reasons. I think it's implied that Volodya also gave Katya money, but when it came to Sergei he was reluctant to do so.
He was also a bit self important. Throughout the movie, he would order Elena around, and Elena would respond. Their relationship felt more like one of servitude, and it was perpetuated by Elena, who would agree to do what he would tell her to do, whether it was getting coffee, or making his bed. They even slept in separate rooms.
We don't know how Volodya got his money, but his money made him too comfortable and he was blind to the struggles of those around him, nor was he sympathetic.
Katya
Katya was painted as kind of a bad girl, but we don't really know what it was that gave her that reputation. Volodya called her a hedonist and selfish, but we didn't know why she was called that.
Katya wasn't shy about saying how she didn't really care about Volodya. It frustrated Elena because she was the one taking care of him day in and day out and Katya couldn't even appreciate that she was taking care of her father.
When Katya and Volodya actually spoke to each other, I was surprised by how blunt their relationship was. Volodya knew that his daughter didn't like him, but he also knew that she would stick around for the money, and he used that to get what he wanted, which was her company. And Katya acknowledged this. Like I said, Volodya even called Katya a parasite, but they both seemed to be happily in this sort of transactional relationship. The difference was that Katya had something that Volodya couldn't get anywhere else, which was a child's love. Sergei had nothing to offer Volodya for money, while Elena was taking care of Volodya.
Katya did participate in the negotiations for the inheritance. I do think that Elena is a bit bitter about Katya for doing nothing and still having Volodya's love. Unfortunately, that is nepotism at work. Volodya will always love Katya for no reason other than the fact that she's his daughter.
Sergei
Sergei was Elena's son. He was kind of a deadbeat. He spent his days doing nothing, and when his wife tried to get him to get their son to do anything, he would end up playing video games with him.
It was Elena who did all the legwork for their family, and Sergei half acknowledged it, but it was also very easy for him to take what she did for granted.
At the end of the movie, when Volodya was sitting down in front of the TV of the fancy flat, he'd told Tanya to get him some nuts. It was very reminiscent of how Volodya would tell Elena to refill his coffee. And I guess it goes on to show that this time period was sexist, and how Sergei expected all the women in his life to serve him.
Tanya
Tanya was Sergei's wife. I think she was a little more aware of the fact that Elena was doing so much for them. When Elena visited and played with their baby, Tanya had to tell Sergei and Sasha to come sit with her, at the very least as a courtesy for bringing over money and groceries.
Unfortunately, I foresee a path similar to Elena's for Tanya, in the sense that she may have to become the backbone of her family and her kids, whether it's going out and finding work to support them or otherwise. Tanya and Sergei were expecting a third child too, so there was going to be more work to be done.
Sasha
Sasha was Sergei and Tanya's first child. Volodya saw him as a nuisance, and he was so exasperated at how Sergei and Tanya could have him "by accident."
Anyway, Sasha was mostly preoccupied by playing video games, which I guess made sense because he was a teenager. However, he also didn't really have a good upbringing. When Elena came over, she had to direct him to help her with the groceries. We saw that Sergei did nothing to encourage studious and proper behaviour from him, and Tanya wasn't a exactly great at parenting either.
However, going into university could do great things for his social standing. But it would depend on what he does with his education.
Themes
Family
Volodya was dead set on Sergei being Elena's family and not Volodya's family. It surprised me because of how aggressive he was about it, but I guess he could afford to be that way when he was the one holding the money. Actually, he reminded me a lot of the relationship from Loveless between the mom and her lover, who had a daughter working abroad. He and his daughter's relationship was completely separate from his relationship with his wife.
Anyway, to Elena, of course she would have hoped that Volodya would see Sergei as his own stepson but that did not happen. But it begs the question, was Elena relying on Volodya solely for the money, or did she truly love him? I recently watched Shoplifters, the Japanese movie, in which we had a makeshift family that was formed out of need more than it was formed out of actual love. That "family" was in poverty, so I guess that that was the root of the disconnect between Elena and Volodya. To Elena, it was common to be together for money, but Volodya did not consider that.
Volodya and asked Katya where her bad behaviour had come from, and she insisted that it was from genes. I know she was being cheeky, and it's the habits that are passed down by observation, rather than actual genes. But it made me think.
What did Volodya pass down to Katya? Come to think of it, we don't know enough about Katya to be able to draw parallels between Volodya's behaviour and hers, so we can only speculate. Maybe it was how she disregarded her family for her dream (like how her dad had apparently spent all his time making money). Maybe in the future, she will also develop a sort of a god complex with her wealth.
As for Elena and Sergei, what behaviour did Elena pass on down to Sergei? I couldn't think of anything, except maybe just the acknowledgment that they were family. So despite having nothing in common, Elena fought for Sergei because he was family.
Class differences
I was so surprised the first time I saw Elena go from her home in the fancy apartment to her son's apartment. It must've given her such whiplash to go between the two sides like that.
Elena really was treated like a servant in the household. It shocked me when she couldn't even ask Volodya to her face for money for Sasha. She could only do so in letter form, maybe because it was improper to talk to him that way about that sort of thing, or maybe because she was afraid that he would react poorly. Anyway, it was very surprising to me.
As I said, a lot of their behaviour implied that they weren't really in a romantic relationship and more of a relationship of servitude, including how Elena would sleep in a different room, and would do all of the menial tasks for Volodya. I literally thought she was just his caregiver until she gave him a kiss.
Transactional relationships
The characters in this movie had interesting relationships with love and money.
Volodya and Katya were up front about how Katya would only see him for money. And Volodya accepted this. He accepted that he would have to pay her for affection and attention, and she was willing to give in.
I think Elena was trying to pretend her relationship with her son wasn't about the money. When Volodya accused of Sergei only wanting her money, she denied it. But it was kind of similar to the relationship between Volodya and Katya. Elena would give money, and in return, she would have the comfort of her family. Well, mostly just like, the baby, since Sergei and Sasha were kind of douches.
But at the same time, can we say that it's only about money? Other than getting affection from her family, like many moms, Elena saw caring for her family as a duty, and by doing so, she was getting a sense of accomplishment too.
Sexism
The men in this movie definitely felt superior to the women. It was always Elena and Tanya who were taking care of the house, being demanded to bring the men things. It's very yucky :(
Overall
This was a good movie. It's what I would expect of Zvyagintsev. I wouldn't say that it was as comprehensive as his later movies, but the essence of the story he was trying to tell was there, in a very Zvyagintsev-like manner.
This was a pretty short movie, less than 2 hours long, and I felt that there was still more to say when it ended. But it still ended at a logical place and I would still recommend this movie as an interesting drama film.
Spoilers.
Story
I think this story is unambiguously about class differences. Elena and Vladimir (called Volodya) were married, but Elena was from a lower class background. She always did what she could to help her son, even if he was maybe a deadbeat, and Volodya kept telling her off for doing so.
It got so bad that Volodya planned to cut Elena out of his will and to leave only an annuity to her. That worried Elena, and she swapped out Volodya's medicine for viagra to kill him. Volodya passing away intestate meant that the inheritance would have a bigger chance of being split evenly between Elena and Volodya's daughter Katya.
At the end of the movie, Elena was still living in Volodya's fancy apartment, and she had her son's family move in. The movie ended with them relaxing around the TV.
During the movie, I was already wondering whether this was going to be a Parasite-like movie. I was questioning whether Elena was with Volodya for love or for the money. At one point in the movie, I think that Volodya even calls Katya a parasite because he thinks she just talks to him for the money.
I wasn't really sure what we were supposed to get from that scene when the power went out in Sergei's apartment flat and some kids went to a fight. Perhaps it was supposed to tell us what a dangerous life they lived, seeing death so close to them.
The story is pretty simple, but I think what's important is the interactions between the characters and how they'd become the people they were. I'm going to have a lot more to say about this movie in the characters and themes section, so stay tuned.
Production
This movie reminded me a lot of Loveless in terms of both the story telling structure and how the settings looked on camera.
The acting was pretty good. I recognized Elena Lyadova, the actress for Katya, from Leviathan, and I was pleasantly surprised by how different her character was, so I am definitely liking this actress.
The direction style was also great as usual from Zvyagintsev. He does a lot of showing, not telling, so I felt like I wasn't overly spoonfed, nor was I left in the dark about what was happening.
Characters
Elena
Elena was our main character. She came from a working class background. She had been working as a nurse, and was probably the breadwinner for her family, seeing as how her son and daughter-in-law didn't have much going on for them. When she married Volodya, you could say that her new job was Volodya's caretaker. In the opening scenes, the only indication that Elena and Volodya had a romantic relationship was when they kissed. Otherwise, Elena slept in a different bed, and she serviced him like a servant.
The one thing Elena would not budge on was her son. She would give part of her pension money to her son, and she was also worried that her grandson would have to enlist if he couldn't get into university. I admit that I shared Volodya's mindset when I felt that Sergei and his family weren't very productive. That's probably me talking from a place of privilege though. And that didn't change the fact that they were Elena's blood and she wanted to help them.
Elena and Katya didn't have a great relationship, but at least it was honest. Between Elena and Katya, Elena cared for Volodya all hours of the day, and it probably annoyed Elena that Volodya was still all over his daughter even though she was hardly an upstanding citizen, a hedonist (though we actually have no idea what it is that Katya does).
When Elena concocted her plan to kill Vladimir, I think she justified it by thinking that she did so much to take care of Volodya, so she was at least worthy of half of it. And at that point, it showed us that Elena's "love" for Volodya was always superficial. Perhaps she was only with Volodya for the money. But we can't deny the fact that Elena took good care of him, making his meals, doing all of his bidding. So was Elena justified in feeling that she was worthy of some of the inheritance even if she wasn't truly in love with him? It's definitely a tricky question.
Elena stole some money from the safe so that even if the inheritance negotiations didn't go well, she'd at least have something to give to Sergei and his family. The movie ended with Sergei's family moving into the fancy apartment, though Elena said that it still wasn't settled whether she would keep the apartment.
In my opinion, Elena was a person who put survival first. And in many traditional cultures, family is crucial to survival. It was her duty to take care of Sergei. Was it her duty to take care of Volodya? Well, at first it would be, but Volodya made it very clear that Elena's family was not his family, and that's what probably drove her to turn on Volodya. In a perfect world, Volodya would treat Elena's son (his stepson) the same as he did his own daughter, but he did not, and thus Elena did not consider Volodya true family like Sergei was.
In terms of her relationship with Sergei, Elena knew that Sergei and his family was taking advantage of her, but I don't think she minded, especially because she was his mother. Mothers are self sacrificing like that.
I just really enjoyed how Elena, our POV character was not exactly the most upright and noble character. For a quick second I was like "is Elena evil?" but then I realized that no, Elena is just looking out for "her people," which in this case are Sergei and company.
Vladimir/Volodya
Volodya is the rich man in question. He had been in hospital before, where he fell in love with Elena. Based on what we were told, they met 10 years ago but only got married two years ago.
Volodya was very judgmental of Sergei, thinking he was a total deadbeat for not having a job. He also disapproved of his daughter, but was defensive of her when Elena attacked his double standard. Again, we didn't really find out what about Katya bothered Volodya, just that she was a selfish hedonist (allegedly).
Elena had asked Volodya if he could pay for Sasha's university tuition, so that he could enter university and not have to be drafted into the military. That put a really bad taste in Volodya's mouth, and I think it was his fear that his money would go to Sergei that he decided to write in his will that everything would go to Katya except for an annuity for Elena.
He was killed by Elena after she switched his medicine with viagra, which would be dangerous for him after experiencing a heart attack.
Volodya had a big blind spot for his privilege. It was implied that he spent a lot of time making money, so I assume that he didn't just inherit his wealth. He was always thinking that Sergei should fend for himself, not realizing that people, especially those in lower social standing, need to rely on their families for financial reasons. I think it's implied that Volodya also gave Katya money, but when it came to Sergei he was reluctant to do so.
He was also a bit self important. Throughout the movie, he would order Elena around, and Elena would respond. Their relationship felt more like one of servitude, and it was perpetuated by Elena, who would agree to do what he would tell her to do, whether it was getting coffee, or making his bed. They even slept in separate rooms.
We don't know how Volodya got his money, but his money made him too comfortable and he was blind to the struggles of those around him, nor was he sympathetic.
Katya
Katya was painted as kind of a bad girl, but we don't really know what it was that gave her that reputation. Volodya called her a hedonist and selfish, but we didn't know why she was called that.
Katya wasn't shy about saying how she didn't really care about Volodya. It frustrated Elena because she was the one taking care of him day in and day out and Katya couldn't even appreciate that she was taking care of her father.
When Katya and Volodya actually spoke to each other, I was surprised by how blunt their relationship was. Volodya knew that his daughter didn't like him, but he also knew that she would stick around for the money, and he used that to get what he wanted, which was her company. And Katya acknowledged this. Like I said, Volodya even called Katya a parasite, but they both seemed to be happily in this sort of transactional relationship. The difference was that Katya had something that Volodya couldn't get anywhere else, which was a child's love. Sergei had nothing to offer Volodya for money, while Elena was taking care of Volodya.
Katya did participate in the negotiations for the inheritance. I do think that Elena is a bit bitter about Katya for doing nothing and still having Volodya's love. Unfortunately, that is nepotism at work. Volodya will always love Katya for no reason other than the fact that she's his daughter.
Sergei
Sergei was Elena's son. He was kind of a deadbeat. He spent his days doing nothing, and when his wife tried to get him to get their son to do anything, he would end up playing video games with him.
It was Elena who did all the legwork for their family, and Sergei half acknowledged it, but it was also very easy for him to take what she did for granted.
At the end of the movie, when Volodya was sitting down in front of the TV of the fancy flat, he'd told Tanya to get him some nuts. It was very reminiscent of how Volodya would tell Elena to refill his coffee. And I guess it goes on to show that this time period was sexist, and how Sergei expected all the women in his life to serve him.
Tanya
Tanya was Sergei's wife. I think she was a little more aware of the fact that Elena was doing so much for them. When Elena visited and played with their baby, Tanya had to tell Sergei and Sasha to come sit with her, at the very least as a courtesy for bringing over money and groceries.
Unfortunately, I foresee a path similar to Elena's for Tanya, in the sense that she may have to become the backbone of her family and her kids, whether it's going out and finding work to support them or otherwise. Tanya and Sergei were expecting a third child too, so there was going to be more work to be done.
Sasha
Sasha was Sergei and Tanya's first child. Volodya saw him as a nuisance, and he was so exasperated at how Sergei and Tanya could have him "by accident."
Anyway, Sasha was mostly preoccupied by playing video games, which I guess made sense because he was a teenager. However, he also didn't really have a good upbringing. When Elena came over, she had to direct him to help her with the groceries. We saw that Sergei did nothing to encourage studious and proper behaviour from him, and Tanya wasn't a exactly great at parenting either.
However, going into university could do great things for his social standing. But it would depend on what he does with his education.
Themes
Family
Volodya was dead set on Sergei being Elena's family and not Volodya's family. It surprised me because of how aggressive he was about it, but I guess he could afford to be that way when he was the one holding the money. Actually, he reminded me a lot of the relationship from Loveless between the mom and her lover, who had a daughter working abroad. He and his daughter's relationship was completely separate from his relationship with his wife.
Anyway, to Elena, of course she would have hoped that Volodya would see Sergei as his own stepson but that did not happen. But it begs the question, was Elena relying on Volodya solely for the money, or did she truly love him? I recently watched Shoplifters, the Japanese movie, in which we had a makeshift family that was formed out of need more than it was formed out of actual love. That "family" was in poverty, so I guess that that was the root of the disconnect between Elena and Volodya. To Elena, it was common to be together for money, but Volodya did not consider that.
Volodya and asked Katya where her bad behaviour had come from, and she insisted that it was from genes. I know she was being cheeky, and it's the habits that are passed down by observation, rather than actual genes. But it made me think.
What did Volodya pass down to Katya? Come to think of it, we don't know enough about Katya to be able to draw parallels between Volodya's behaviour and hers, so we can only speculate. Maybe it was how she disregarded her family for her dream (like how her dad had apparently spent all his time making money). Maybe in the future, she will also develop a sort of a god complex with her wealth.
As for Elena and Sergei, what behaviour did Elena pass on down to Sergei? I couldn't think of anything, except maybe just the acknowledgment that they were family. So despite having nothing in common, Elena fought for Sergei because he was family.
Class differences
I was so surprised the first time I saw Elena go from her home in the fancy apartment to her son's apartment. It must've given her such whiplash to go between the two sides like that.
Elena really was treated like a servant in the household. It shocked me when she couldn't even ask Volodya to her face for money for Sasha. She could only do so in letter form, maybe because it was improper to talk to him that way about that sort of thing, or maybe because she was afraid that he would react poorly. Anyway, it was very surprising to me.
As I said, a lot of their behaviour implied that they weren't really in a romantic relationship and more of a relationship of servitude, including how Elena would sleep in a different room, and would do all of the menial tasks for Volodya. I literally thought she was just his caregiver until she gave him a kiss.
Transactional relationships
The characters in this movie had interesting relationships with love and money.
Volodya and Katya were up front about how Katya would only see him for money. And Volodya accepted this. He accepted that he would have to pay her for affection and attention, and she was willing to give in.
I think Elena was trying to pretend her relationship with her son wasn't about the money. When Volodya accused of Sergei only wanting her money, she denied it. But it was kind of similar to the relationship between Volodya and Katya. Elena would give money, and in return, she would have the comfort of her family. Well, mostly just like, the baby, since Sergei and Sasha were kind of douches.
But at the same time, can we say that it's only about money? Other than getting affection from her family, like many moms, Elena saw caring for her family as a duty, and by doing so, she was getting a sense of accomplishment too.
Sexism
The men in this movie definitely felt superior to the women. It was always Elena and Tanya who were taking care of the house, being demanded to bring the men things. It's very yucky :(
Overall
This was a good movie. It's what I would expect of Zvyagintsev. I wouldn't say that it was as comprehensive as his later movies, but the essence of the story he was trying to tell was there, in a very Zvyagintsev-like manner.