Elena (2012)
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 60
Fresh: 56 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 1,756
Movie Info
Winner of Cannes' Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize, Elena is a gripping, modern twist on the classic noir thriller. Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir and Elena uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartment-he's a still-virile, wealthy businessman; she's his dowdy former nurse who has clearly "married up." Estranged from his own wild-child daughter, Vladimir openly despises his wife's freeloading son and family. But when a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife's
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Cast
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Nadezhda Markina
Elena -
Andrei Smirnov
Vladimir -
Yelena Lyadova
Katerina -
Alexey Rozin
Sergey -
Evgenia Konushkina
Tatyana -
Igor Ogurtsov
Sasha -
Vasiliy Michkiv
Lawyer -
Alexey Maslodudov
Vitek -
Carmen Salinas
Vieja Samora -
Irma Dorantes
Vieja Soto -
Xavier "Chabelo" Lopez
Don Jacinto -
Jorge Galvan
Teo -
Lorena Velazquez
Vieja Reyes -
Ana Luisa Peluffo
Vieja Paniagua -
Elsa Cardenas
Vieja Madrigal -
Sara Montes
Vieja Rios -
Hugo Macías Macotela
Padre Brambila -
Evangelina Sosa
Tina -
Roberto Sosa
Viejo Paniagua -
Paul Mendoza
Octavio Soto -
Gatilla
Elena -
José Eduardo
Emilio -
Jaime Jiménez Pons
Viejo Soto -
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Elena Trailer & Photos
All Critics (60) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (4) | DVD (1)
Sturdy performances, fine photography from Mikhail Krichman, good use of music by Philip Glass and a pleasingly terse script make for incisive, gripping drama.
Top CriticIn different hands, "Elena" might have been a noir thriller, but this serving of cinematic borscht is as cold as a Russian winter.
"Elena" is a riveting psychological suspense film.
A quiet, subtle mystery whose long, penetrating takes have drawn comparisons to Andrei Tarkovsky and whose mordantly ironic conclusion may remind you of Claude Chabrol.
Zvyaginstsev makes the most of the ghastly settings, which include a backyard that ominously features nuclear cones - and the kinds of compartmentalized living spaces that Hitchcock used for droll effect in "Rear Window."
It's a sort of slow-boil Russian noir, if that genre exists, and if it doesn't, it does now.
A chilly noir about the beaten paths and icy ruts of Russian life in the capital, post-Communism. In a land of schemers, Elena suggests, the urban cloisters of Moscow's elite are as self-sealing as the lowly masses' stifling Soviet-era flats.
The kind of family drama that gives family dramas a good name.
Though very Russian, there is an extremely universal story at the heart of this film ...
A perfectly formed drama that gradually takes hold and doesn't let go.
It's very gloomy. It's very Russian. It's as powerful as any picture released this season.
A slow-burning but engrossing drama that takes an intriguingly dark view of the sanctity of family in order to explore the ways in which bad seeds have a habit of flourishing in any environment.
It's a gripping, resonant tale, and Nadezhda Markina is outstanding as Elena, and far more sympathetic than perhaps she should be.
One of the very best Russian films of the past year.
It may seem slow and lugubrious but it draws you into these complex, contradictory lives the way a spider lures a fly into a web.
The mundanity of the everyday is examined, but do you really want to watch someone slowly making a bed?
A deeply satisfying film.
Zvyagintsev, who made The Return and The Banishment, does a good impression of constructing a world while secretly spinning a web.
A withering admonishment of capitalism and the emotional mindset that comes with.
[An] understated but gripping drama about family ties, about the way that sometimes tensions vie with tenderness in even the closest relationships.
Quietly gripping Russian drama with a thought-provoking script and a captivating central performance from Nadezhda Markina.
Zvyagintsev moves the story with a slow, brooding pace - aided by a somber Philip Glass score - that turns the screws patiently and inexorably toward a shattering conclusion.
Backed by a sparing Philip Glass score, Elena eloquently shows how, in modern Russia, even family relationships are at the mercy of business.
Absorbing but slow-moving family drama taking place in post-Soviet Russia.
A remarkable film...spare and acutely observed.
Audience Reviews for Elena
Super Reviewer
But his minimalist style is underwhelming here. I didn't end up caring about the characters very much. And I think this was because of Zvyagintsev's cold style of direction and minimalist approach to story development.
He strips things to the bone, which heightens the moral issues at play. But it also denudes the film. It strips the human dimension away.
The eponymous main character is a nurse from a lower-class background who ends up marrying a wealthy patient for whom she is caring. Trouble ensues when her feckless grandson needs financial help to get into college and avoid service in the Army. Elena wants her husband to bribe the college admissions counselors. Her rich husband wants to teach the boy a lesson by not rescuing him. Conflict arises. Big time.
I won't tell you how things turn out, but I will say that something gruesome happens.
I love this basic story. I just wish Zvyagintsev was talented enough to bring it alive in a brutally compelling way. But he is not. The film is ultimately quite flat. The minimalism feels more flaccid and diffuse than incisive and penetrating. A disappointment. But it's a real pleasure to see a filmmaker with a global following bringing a serious story like this to the screen. Even when his films don't fully succeed, Zvyagintsev is a far more valuable filmmaker than someone like Tim Burton.
Super Reviewer
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Movie: ID: 771243569 Title: Elena Release Date: 2012-05-16 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 2 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Elena (DE)
- Elena (UK)
The direction is meticulous, patient and purposeful, capturing little moments and stunning imagery. A most memorable, simple score does wonders too.