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Return, The (2004) Rank 5 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Return, The (2004) a score of 3.2713 out of 4
based on (23) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Excellent
4
Excellent
(13)
Very Good
3
Very Good
(7)
Good
2
Good
(3)
Fair
1
Fair
(0)
Poor
0
Poor
(0)
Reviews by Score:
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
Enriched by allusions to biblical stories of fathers, sons, and sacrifices, subtly woven into the movie's moodily photographed fabric. ...read the complete Return movie review at Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
Can be interpreted politically or even biblically or not at all, as the elemental struggles between dominance and submission, impulse and action, man and nature, father and son, play out to their stunning conclusion. ...read the complete Return movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
While most films are fortunate if they succeed on any level, The Return works easily on several, making as powerful a mark emotionally as it does visually and even allegorically. Yet the film so catches you up in its compelling story, you're almost not ...read the complete Return movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
The Russian film The Return is a stunning contemporary fable about a divided family in the wilderness - a simple, riveting film that almost achieves greatness. ...read the complete Return movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for The Hollywood Reporter (Sheri Linden)The Hollywood Reporter (Sheri Linden)
At once a powerful psychological thriller and a haunting allegory, The Return marks an auspicious feature debut for helmer Andrey Zvyagintsev. ...read the complete Return movie review at The Hollywood Reporter (Sheri Linden)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for The New York Times (Dave Kehr)The New York Times (Dave Kehr)
At once highly naturalistic and dreamily abstract, playing out its mythic themes through vibrantly detailed characterizations (and remarkable performances by the entire cast). The Return announces the arrival of a major new talent. ...read the complete Return movie review at The New York Times (Dave Kehr)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
The true mystery is the journey itself, which will turn out to be one of the most spiritually enervating, and elevating, Outward Bound courses ever undertaken. ...read the complete Return movie review at LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)
It's not the sort of film one can be said to enjoy, but it is the sort of film that has the clarity of a dream and lingers for hours. ...read the complete Return movie review at Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Mark Jenkins)Washington Post (Mark Jenkins)
A haunting Russian art film with the economy of a thriller. ...read the complete Return movie review at Washington Post (Mark Jenkins)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.56 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
This is nobody's idea of a happy family story, but it is a pristinely chilling depiction of familial meltdown in a post-Stalinist, Twilight Zone anti-place, the dark heart of heartlessness and mysterious parenting techniques. ...read the complete Return movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for New York Post (V.A. Musetto)New York Post (V.A. Musetto)
Vladimir Garin and Ivan Dobronravov are amazingly natural as the boys, and Konstantin Lavronenko impresses as the taciturn father. ...read the complete Return movie review at New York Post (V.A. Musetto)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for Boston Globe (Ty Burr)Boston Globe (Ty Burr)
Filmed with a cold, poetic beauty, The Return slowly strips away motivation until it arrives at a place of myth both private and oddly universal. ...read the complete Return movie review at Boston Globe (Ty Burr)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for Miami Herald (Marta Barber)Miami Herald (Marta Barber)
Many questions remain purposely unanswered: Where was the father for 12 years? Why did he want to go away with the kids? What's in a box he finds hidden in the island? Yet, in a remarkable ending, the boys discover their feelings. ...read the complete Return movie review at Miami Herald (Marta Barber)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Variety (Deborah Young)Variety (Deborah Young)
Constructed like an eerie, metaphorical thriller, this tense, riveting character study offers viewers nearly two hours of emotions with a stunning pay-off no one will be expecting. ...read the complete Return movie review at Variety (Deborah Young)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)
In its dramatic shift from the real to the allegorical, the ending of Andrey Zvyagintsev's auspicious debut feature The Return is likely to leave many viewers scratching their heads. ...read the complete Return movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Empire (David Hughes)Empire (David Hughes)
Garin’s performance is just one of the note-perfect elements in The Return -- unfussy acting, unhurried direction, sublime cinematography and low-key music -- which conspire to draw the audience into a deceptively simple story with numerous hidden ...read the complete Return movie review at Empire (David Hughes)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
It is a Kafkaesque story, in which ominous things follow one another with a certain internal logic but make no sense at all. ...read the complete Return movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Actor-turned-director Andrey Zvyagintsev's feature debut is haunted by an elusive past and suffused with dread about the future, and it's all suggestion without explanation. ...read the complete Return movie review at TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Village Voice (J. Hoberman)Village Voice (J. Hoberman)
Primordial and laconic, this remarkably assured debut feature has the elegant simplicity of its title. ...read the complete Return movie review at Village Voice (J. Hoberman)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 2.52 out of 4 stars for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Oh, it's The Return, all right. To any masochist who's been pining for all those clichéd tropes associated with Russian cinema -- ponderous pacing and arcane symbolism shot through a lens darkly -- this will seem a welcome blast from the past. ...read the complete Return movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Film Threat (Staff (Not credited))Film Threat (Staff (Not credited))
With exceptional performances and extraordinary imagery, Zvyagintsev has fashioned a remarkable first feature. ...read the complete Return movie review at Film Threat (Staff (Not credited))
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)
Strip away the portentous style and lush views of nature in The Return and all you've got is a slender nightmare of a family gone haywire in an outing that turns into survival camp. ...read the complete Return movie review at Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)
Return, The (2004) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Carla Meyer)San Francisco Chronicle (Carla Meyer)
A tense, expertly acted Russian film clouded by its intentional ambiguity. ...read the complete Return movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Carla Meyer)

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Movie Reviews: Drama
Return, The (2004) Reviews
Return, The (2004)

RANKINGS:

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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
2.9868
Return, The (2004) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
3.2713
Return, The (2004) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
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