The director of The Return wants audiences to know that his film is a mythological look at human life.

The myth in question hints at Oedipus, but with plenty of Christian symbolism mixed in there.

The Return is a simple enough tale about two brothers whose father comes back into their lives -- after 12 years.

The story is only mildly eventful but rife with dread, starting off with the general, free-floating, widely available fears of childhood.

Here are Vanya (Ivan Dobronravov) and his older brother Andrey (Vladimir Garin) swimming with their buddies. Vanya loses his nerve when it comes to jumping off a high tower, and his mother comes to his rescue. Much teasing follows. Later that day, Vanya and Andrey are shocked to discover that their long-absent father has suddenly returned home.

No explanation is given about where he has been or why. The children speculate with awe in their voices.

Father (Konstantin Lavronenko) takes the boys on a fishing trip. As the relationships among the boys and the father shift and change, the mood darkens.

Andrey hastens to establish some sort of father/son bond. Vanya is initially wary and eventually rebellious. Father is mostly quiet and broody but capable of discipline and even, perhaps, of cruelty. Certainly, he seems to have something to hide. This is all completely different from the parenting the boys have had thus far from their mother.

The Return hints at tragedy throughout but offers no easy answers. The story sidesteps all expectations and does not go where you might expect, ever. For Vanya and Andrey, the events constitute a psychological coming-of-age story. The two young men give heart-breakingly good performances.

At the Venice Film Festival last year, The Return won Best First Film and the Golden Lion. The film won a "10 Directors To Watch" nod for filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, and was the official Russian entry at the Academy Awards, among other honours.

The movie is in Russian, with English subtitles.

(This film is rated PG)

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