Loveless (film)

This article is about the 2017 film. For the 1991 film, see No Love (film).

Loveless
Film poster
RussianНелюбовь
RomanizationNelyubov
Directed byAndrey Zvyagintsev
Screenplay by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMikhail Krichman
Edited byAnna Mass
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 18 May 2017 (2017-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 1 June 2017 (2017-06-01) (Russia)
Running time
127 minutes[3]
Countries
  • Russia
  • France
  • Belgium
  • Germany[4]
LanguageRussian
Box office$4.8 million[5][6]

Loveless (Russian: Нелюбовь, romanized: Nelyubov) is a 2017 drama film[a] directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, who co-wrote it with Oleg Negin. The story concerns two separated parents, played by Maryana Spivak and Aleksey Rozin, whose loveless relationship has decayed into a state of bitterness and hostility. They are temporarily drawn back together after their only child goes missing and they attempt to find him.

The story was inspired by the search-and-rescue group Liza Alert and Zvyagintsev's desire to make a film about a family. He was originally interested in making a Russian reworking of the 1973 Swedish miniseries Scenes from a Marriage but could not obtain the rights. Loveless was produced with international support after the Russian government disapproved of Zvyagintsev's 2014 anti-corruption film Leviathan. As a result, Loveless is a co-production of Russia, France, Belgium and Germany. Cinematographer Mikhail Krichman used a realistic style during filming in Moscow in 2016. Although Zvyagintsev said he had no interest in politics, he incorporated a skeptical view of the police into the film. Themes include parental neglect, the state of lovelessness or nelyubov,[b] and bleak environments.

Loveless opened to critical acclaim and won the Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Critics viewed it as a gripping story of a family crisis and a statement on life in Russia. It won two European Film Awards, including Best Cinematographer for Krichman, as well as the César Award for Best Foreign Film, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.

  1. ^ Holdsworth, Nick; Koslov, Vladmir (11 May 2017). "Sony Pictures to Release Cannes Competition Film 'Loveless' in Russia". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Nelyubov (2017)". Lumiere. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  3. ^ Koehler (2018), p. 51.
  4. ^ Fainaru, Dain (18 May 2017). "'Loveless': Cannes Review". Screen Daily. Screen International. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Loveless". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Nelyubov". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bradshaw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference MacFarquhar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Dunlevy, T'cha (21 February 2018). "Andrey Zvyagintsev steps into the void in missing-child drama Loveless". The Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  11. ^ Chu, Henry (14 October 2017). "Andrey Zvyagintsev's 'Loveless' Takes Top Honors at London Film Festival". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018. Although the film concentrated on the intimate story of one family in Russia, it felt like a universal tragedy, one that we recognized as one of the world's great sadness.
  12. ^ Scharres, Barbara (17 May 2017). "Cannes 2017: The Fest Opens with "Ismael's Ghosts," "Loveless"". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018. It's a stately and mournful tragedy about a runaway child, full of procedural details that build a quiet and open-ended suspense.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Meduza was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Koehler (2018), p. 53.


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