Leviathan, a 2014 Russian drama film, won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. Also, it is nominated for Oscar 2015. Film director Andrey Zvyagintsev portrayed the reality of the Russian provincial life in the way, that many Russians didn’t like the movie and accused the director of Russophobia.
The film is set on a peninsula by the Barents Sea in the village of Teriberka and tells the story of a man who struggles against a corrupt mayor who wants his piece of land. According to Zvyagintsev, the prototype of this story was the story of Marvin Heemeyer in the United States which was adopted to a Russian setting. The movie Leviathan revolves around a hotheaded redneck named Kolia (Alexei Serebriakov) and the events in his life.
Recently, BigPicture photographer visited the place where the movie was filmed and choose most “decent” looking photographs of Teriberka.
There are no jobs available in Teriberka: the place is half-deserted with lots of abandoned houses, buildings and boats.
According to the head of local government, many journalists have visited the village recently in hopes of capturing the worst. However, the movie is not about Teriberka, but about life in Russia’s provincial regions in general.
The Christmas tree.
The views of the Bay and the Barents sea.
According to the local nurse, “Zvyagintsev very accurately showed everyday life. It seems to me that the actors didn’t even act well. He should have hired the locals”.
Ship graveyard.
The photographer met about thirty people during the day. Only five of them seemed drunk.
“If you do not pay attention to old and abandoned homes, otherwise, the place is very beautiful. Northern nature is astounding: lots of white snow, mountains, steam over the sea. The day is short and the sun is not yet visible, and colors on the sky are ranging from deep Indigo to delicate pink and bright orange. Stars and Aurora are clearly visible at night.”
However, our earlier post about Teriberka shows a bit darker side of the village.
Thank you for the photographs of Teriberka. The snow mutes the brutal starkness of a barren landscape littered with decay. A perfect setting for Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan.