The Bible in the films of Pavel Lungin and Andrei Zvyagintsev
The Bible in the films of Pavel Lungin and Andrei Zvyagintsev

Summary/Abstract: In the Soviet Union, even after perestroika, explicitly biblical films have practically not been produced; nevertheless the Bible, despite acute censorship, has been present in a symbolic way in films directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and Larissa Shepitko. A certain revival of biblical themes is evident in recent works of Russian directors Pavel Lungin (Island, 2006; The Conductor, 2012), and Andrei Zvyagintsev (The Return, 2003; Leviathan, 2014). The paper analyzes the meaning of the Bible in these films: biblical texts are quoted in dialogues, and evoked in the titles and the protagonists’ names; biblical motifs are present in images, in contemporary events, and in the narrative structures. The Bible is recognizable in the experiences of the protagonists (Christ figures), and it influences their lives, or is refused and denied. Lungin and Zvyagintsev show the importance of the Bible in challenging personal, social, religious and political contexts and situations.

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