Can a film about a tragic misunderstanding be a masterpiece of visual storytelling?
In short: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s 2007 drama, The Banishment, explores the devastating consequences of a husband’s fatal assumption regarding his wife’s pregnancy. While critics were divided on its slow pace and narrative structure, the film remains a visually striking study of human error, communication breakdown, and the weight of unspoken grief.
The Banishment is a loose adaptation of William Saroyan’s 1953 novel, The Laughing Matter. The story follows Alex, who, upon learning his wife Vera is pregnant with a child he believes is not his, forces her to undergo an abortion. The tragedy unfolds as Vera commits suicide shortly after the procedure, only for Alex to later discover that the child was indeed his own. The narrative is defined by a profound lack of communication between the couple, leading to a catastrophic chain of events that leaves Alex to grapple with the reality of his actions.
Director Andrey Zvyagintsev spent nearly three years developing the project, working from a screenplay originally drafted by Artyom Melkumian. Zvyagintsev famously cut much of the original dialogue, believing that long conversations would fail to hold a viewer's attention. The production was an ambitious international effort, spanning 103 shooting days across Belgium, France, Moldova, and Russia. To create a timeless, universal atmosphere, the crew went to great lengths to obscure specific cultural markers, such as altering bank notes and digitally removing signs.
The film’s reception was notably polarized. While some reviewers hailed it as a mythic achievement, others criticized its structural choices and perceived it as an imitation of cinematic masters like Tarkovsky and Bergman. Despite the mixed critical consensus, the film’s cinematography by Mikhail Krichman earned widespread acclaim for its painterly quality. Konstantin Lavronenko, who starred as Alex, received the Best Actor honor at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where the film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Banishment
- Also: Wikidata — The Banishment · CC0
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