The Return

The Return

2003 · 111 min · ★ 7.3 · Drama, Mystery

Two young brothers in contemporary Russia are reunited with a father they know only from an old photograph after his sudden return from a long absence. With their mother’s reluctant consent, they set out on a remote trip that quickly becomes an uneasy test of authority, trust, and masculinity. As the journey moves deeper into the wilderness, the fragile bonds between father and sons are pushed to their limits.

Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev · Written by Vladimir Moiseenko

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Google Play MoviesYouTube

Cast

Trailers & Videos

Make it a double feature

4h 29m together

The Return

The Banishment

Both from Andrey Zvyagintsev.

More from Andrey ZvyagintsevSee all →

KamenskayaKamenskaya · 1999
Kamenskaya
8.11999
SeriesAction & AdventureMystery
Crime has spiraled out of control for law enforcement in Moscow, and Police Major Anastasiya Kamenskaya conducts investigations into criminal activities. Frequently, the crimes she investigates involve or are even linked to influential individuals: politicians, businessmen, heads of major criminal organizations. Adapted from novels of Alexandra Marinina.
LeviathanLeviathan · 2014
Leviathan
7.42014
MovieDramaCrime
In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family.
LovelessLoveless · 2017
Loveless
7.32017
MovieDrama
Zhenya and Boris are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations. Already embarking on new lives, each with a new partner, they are impatient to start again, to turn the page – even if it means threatening to abandon their 12-year-old son Alyosha. Until, after witnessing one of their fights, Alyosha disappears.
ElenaElena · 2011
Elena
7.22011
MovieDramaThriller
After suffering a heart attack, a wealthy elderly Russian man plans to will most of his estate to his estranged daughter. However, his wife has other plans.
The BanishmentThe Banishment · 2008
The Banishment
7.12008
MovieDrama
While vacationing in the countryside at his childhood home, a woman suddenly reveals to her husband that she is expecting a child – but not his.
The Little CatThe Little Cat · 1997
The Little Cat
6.81997
MovieFamily
While playing a young kitten falls from the window of it's home and lands on a truck that drives it far across the city of Moscow. Helpless, afraid and clueless how to get home, it encounters many dangers but also lots of friendly people and animals helping the little cat. After many adventures in the big city, the kitten finally finds it's way home, thanks to it's new friends.
Black RoomBlack Room · 2000
Black Room
6.82000
Series
The black room. Enclosed space. The action unfolds as if slowly. You understand that every word, every gesture of the heroes have a special, secret, as yet absolutely incomprehensible meaning. But you feel: you can't miss a single nuance. There are two or three heroes in each novel. There is a real drama between them, which ends with an explosion. Sometimes figuratively, and sometimes literally. Time is continuous: there is no yesterday and tomorrow.
What a Mess!What a Mess! · 1995
What a Mess!
6.71995
MovieComedy
A Russian criminal steals a giant diamond from the Mafia, hides it, and suddenly runs into his unknown brothers; unexpected, absurd events with participation of the mob, doctors, musicians, Americans, militia, and gypsies ensue.
ApocryphaApocrypha · 2009
Apocrypha
5.12009
MovieDrama
A young boy picks up his father's camera, with which he accidentally films a dying romance between a man and a woman.
Experiment 5iveExperiment 5ive · 2011
Experiment 5ive
5.02011
Movie
An anthology of five films of five minutes each by five well-known Russian directors, inspired and financed by the chewing gum company Wrigley.
Minotaur
Oct 14, 2026
Minotaur · 2026
Minotaur
2026
MovieDramaCrime
When Gleb, a successful company director, finds himself under siege from mounting corporate pressures, an increasingly unstable world, and the discovery of his wife's affair, the collapse of his carefully ordered life accelerates toward violence.
Cannes 2026 With Anton DolinCannes 2026 With Anton Dolin · 2026
Cannes 2026 With Anton Dolin
2026
MovieDocumentary
A behind-the-scenes glimpse into the daily routine of Russian film critic Anton Dolin at the Cannes Film Festival. Screenings, lunch breaks, interviews, along with chance encounters with colleagues, fans, and renowned directors.
Who Left the Light…Who Left the Light… · 2018
Who Left the Light…
2018
MovieDocumentary
The film "Who left the Light ..." is dedicated to the memory of theater director, theater and film actor Vladimir Ageev. He has been called "the main alchemist of modern filmmaking." A student of Anatoly Vasiliev, Vladimir Ageev paved his own path in art. His search and research led him to create his own creative style, to the "Theater of Mystery and Joy". The film uses archival recordings of the director's rehearsals, fragments from performances.
ReflectionReflection · 1998
Reflection
1998
MovieActionAdventure
After a failed marriage, Sasha Vasiliev leaves his wife and takes a job as a gamekeeper in a nature reserve. Before long, he comes into conflict with a powerful and wealthy politician who wants to buy a stretch of riverbank within the reserve for personal use. All Sasha has to do is sign a single document, and everything would stay quiet and peaceful — but he refuses.

More Like This

Try SeventeenTry Seventeen · 2002
Try Seventeen
6.22002
MovieComedyRomance
Teenager Jones has opted not to go to college and is instead renting a room in a boarding house to work on his writing skills. Soon, Jones finds himself dividing his time between two women: a young actress named Lisa and a photographer named Jane. After Jane's ex-boyfriend arrives to help her recover from a car accident, Jones begins to understand just how much he cares for her.
The Last DetailThe Last Detail · 1973
The Last Detail
7.01973
MovieDramaComedy
Two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison, but decide to show him one last good time along the way.
ManicManic · 2002
Manic
6.82002
MovieDrama
Follows the fate of Lyle, a violent adolescent who, in lieu of prison, is placed in a juvenile mental institution, where he encounters a group of equally troubled teens. This motley crew—abused, sexually confused, violent, and yet hanging on by their grit and anger—becomes Lyle's last lifeline as he fights to find meaning in a world that seems to defy understanding.
Amazing GraceAmazing Grace · 2006
Amazing Grace
6.92006
MovieDrama
The true story of William Wilberforce and his courageous quest to end the British slave trade. Along the way, Wilberforce meets intense opposition, but his minister urges him to see the cause through.
Jump In!Jump In! · 2007
Jump In!
6.42007
MovieDramaComedy
A young boxer, Izzy Daniels, trains to follow in his father's footsteps by winning the Golden Glove. But when his friend, Mary asks him to substitute for a team member in a Double Dutch tournament, the young man discovers a hidden passion for jump roping, all while finding love with Mary and navigating conflict with himself and his father about boxing.
DefianceDefiance · 2008
Defiance
6.82008
MovieDramaHistory
Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland.
At Close RangeAt Close Range · 1986
At Close Range
6.81986
MovieCrimeDrama
Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man.
CJ7CJ7 · 2008
CJ7
7.32008
MovieComedyDrama
A poor construction worker, who struggles to keep his son in private school, mistakes an orb he finds in a junkjard for a toy which proves to be much, much more once the young boy starts to play with it.
Wrath of ManWrath of Man · 2021
Wrath of Man
7.62021
MovieThrillerCrime
A cold and mysterious new security guard for a Los Angeles cash truck company surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.
Straight Outta ComptonStraight Outta Compton · 2015
Straight Outta Compton
7.82015
MovieDramaMusic
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter