KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

altereggonyc 109 minutes isn't that long for a movie, unless it's edited like this one. At the 20 minute mark, I felt like I had been watching for an hour. Some scenes are so still that they seem like photographs. I was watching it streaming on Amazon Instant Video and at least once I thought the movie had stopped. No detail is too trivial for the filmmaker to include, whether it's housework or smalltalk. Do you have to show someone's boring life this boringly to show that it's boring? OK, I'm convinced. Too much atmosphere, disenchantment and ennui, not enough story. I was hoping for a post-Soviet noir thriller. There is a plot here but, like a pair of Levi's in the USSR, you'll pay a high price for it.

FilmCriticLalitRao It would not be an understatement at all if some knowledgeable film critics were to state that Russians are the world's best filmmakers in contemporary times. The current crop of Russian films have not only managed to convey valuable messages about life and its significance but have also been successful in entertaining astute audiences all over the world. "Elena" is a brilliant example of an ethical film with a message. In many ways, it has already been hailed as one of Andrei Zvyagintsev's most accessible films. It is a film which is absolutely devoid of symbolism with which one would normally associate most films made by Zvyagintsev. Elena succeeds as it is an honest film about how money and the acquisition of money has influenced the way Russian society looks at life. A fine balance has been struck as this film shows two aspects of modern Russia : on the one hand, a Russia where a certain section of rich people live in beautiful houses and enjoy all the best facilities to maintain a good lifestyle. On the other hand, there is a different facet of a troubled Russia where alcoholism and bad housing conditions have made life miserable for poor denizens. How does one fit in today's affluent Russia of two extremes where not having money was a colossal problem in the past and having more money has also become a major modern problem ? This is an apt description which can be attached to Russian film "Elena". Although slow in parts, Elena gains momentum in the later part of second half which is the most crucial segment of the film in terms of action. However, the beauty of this film lies in the manner some of life's challenging questions related to economic well being of ordinary people have been asked. It is for finding answers to such questions that Elena must be watched by anybody interested in the manner in which financial health of a person influences his/her personal health.

paul2001sw-1 Andrey Zvyagintsev 's 'The Return' is my favourite film to date of the 21st century. 'Elena', a personal drama that illuminates the class structure in contemporary Russia, is not quite so powerful – it's very slow, and the ambiguity of motive that drove the earlier film is not there. And on first viewing it wasn't clear to me whether the shocking but strangely ambivalent ending is a work of genius or the sign of a film that has lost its focus. Still, the director's ability to construct haunting, unexpected images has not deserted him; some scenes reminded me of Keislowski in his Polish phase, just about the highest praise I can give.

sidneywhitaker-1 It is indeed "slow", and perhaps a little more movement in the sound-track during the first 30 seconds would reduce anxiety for the viewer who is not prepared for the SILENCE, which the Director (in his excellent interview) rightly regards as more eloquent than words. And what eloquent silences, in contrast to the violent action and sound-tracks of popular films! How else than with silences can one feel and think? and study the expressive faces of the oppressed and anguished Elena, and the cold Vladimir?Of the three generations--grandmother, son/daughter, and grandson--which of them is not dysfunctional (in that cold, scientific term)? How strongly the viewer's pity for our (relatively) affluent contemporary citizens is generated by this painful domestic tale!