A razor-sharp portrayal of a marriage in a state of collapse, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s searing drama was awarded top prize at the Munich Film Festival as well as the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Boris and Zhenya’s relationship is all but over. Caught in a spiral of vicious slanging matches and eager to be in the company of their new lovers, the only thing keeping them together is their 12-year-old son, Alyosha. When he doesn’t come home one night, the sparring couple are forced into an increasingly desperate search, with the lovelessness of their marriage mirrored by the indifference of the society around them.

His precise, stately compositions paired with taut narratives of greed and injustice, Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan; Elena, MIFF 2011) is perhaps the greatest Russian filmmaker working today, and certainly the pre-eminent chronicler of his country’s 21st century malaise. Earning rave reviews at Cannes, where it topped the Screen International jury poll as best of the fest, Loveless is one of this year’s must-see films.

'A stark, mysterious and terrifying story of spiritual catastrophe.' – The Guardian