"Yuriev Den" ("Yuri's Day")
Set in the cold harshness of a Russian winter, this film focuses on the transformation of a successful Russian opera singer as she searches for her missing son.
An arrogant and materialistic singer takes her spoiled son on a trip back to her humble beginnings in a distant Russian village. The son disappears and we join the mother as she searches for her son, first in the morgue, then a nearby monastery, and finally a local tuberculosis hospital.
Expertly shot and extremely well-acted, this is the most professional production I've seen yet in competition. Filled with a plethora of visual and verbal metaphors, this film haunts you long after the final credits stop rolling. The heavy soul of Russia lingers...
The mother, at the end of the film, has not yet found her son, but she has become a more grounded and giving human being.
