Vladimir Garin

The Return (Russian: Возвращение, romanized: Vozvrashcheniye) is a 2003 Russian coming-of-age drama film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and released internationally in 2004.

It tells the story of two Russian boys whose father suddenly returns home after a 12-year absence. He takes the boys on a holiday to a remote island on a lake that turns into a test of manhood of almost mythic proportions. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival (as well as the award for the best first film) and was nominated on Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was also selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards, but it didn't make the final shortlist. It received generally positive reviews from critics.