Don't get me wrong, I appreciated Ida for what is was. You could argue that the film deserved the Best Foreign Film Oscar. But Leviathan is an entirely different beast: more ambitious, human, challenging, and less self-consciously artsy. The fact that this movie even got made in Russia today is nothing short of miraculous.
I think it's clear which movie will enjoy a more lasting legacy.
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I think BOTH movies are great. No need to downgrade IDA to pump up LEVIATHAN,
As far as I know, there has been no rule handed down by the cinema gods that only one Foreign Language film per year is allowed to "last" in the memory.
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Interesting remark. I don't agree, but only for historical reasons. Ida is about the change that did already take place and people who saw how the movie was all about new and old Poland will always appreciate this, where as Leviathan is how Russia, despite it's leaders always changing, will always be the same. For this reason alone, I think the reverse will be true.
I'd also dispute the human aspect of Leviathan, especially in comparison to Ida. Ida was all about humanity and how fragile it is, how it changes us and our paths, whereas Leviathan was about the machine, the never ending machine, where Russia, much like religion, never ever changes. I will completely agree with you, that most people consider Ida too artsy, but after seeing it, can you even imagine in in color? Where as, Leviathan, sans one scene, could have been in black and white and it would have felt like a bad (there are no such things in reality) Bergman film.
I myself didn't enjoy Leviathan's lack of a real inner story. The entire movie was a simple metaphor, loosely based on Job and it's desire to show political and religious corruption as the "truth," where as Ida, in my opinion, was one of the best movies of the last five years.
Your line about it being it being made is a little off, but being selected as Russia's submission to Cannes, is beyond shocking.
I thought Ida was amazing! The camera work and her face gave me chills. Ya some folks would see it as too artsy ... because it was beautifully artistic. If they cannot grasp the beauty I feel for them. More so it accurately details the catholic convictions of the Polish people as well as the Poland in the wake of WW2 (Holocaust and Naxis) and rotting of Russian occupation. Really it was the triumph of Catholicism over Stalism/communism ... and that is Poland's story.
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