Sins of the Father

FOXTROT (A) - This remarkable story sneaks up on you, toying with your expectations and offering devastating insights into how we live. The film opens with a couple being informed that their son has been killed while serving in the Israeli defense forces. It's pretty standard drama, but it's a ruse; the news may not be accurate -- or the plot might be running out of order.

Either way, we eventually meet Jonathan (Yonaton Shiray) helping man a remote roadway checkpoint, where the occasional camel passes through the gate along with random cars full of motorists. Israeli writer-director Samuel Maoz (2009's "Lebanon") fabricates an intricate set-up at the outpost, full of arcane steampunk gadgets straight out of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil." The subtle deadpan humor shares comic DNA with 2015's "Zero Motivation," another sharply observed Israeli military film.

Each of the parents has a compelling story to tell. Michael (Lior Ashkenazi) has his own mother issues. And Sarah Adler is compelling as Daphna, a seriously depressed wife and mother. After the initial sleight of hand in the first 15 minutes, Maoz sets everything into place, and the humanity of this one sneaks up on you.

THE RETURN (2004) (B-minus) - A relentless grind about a father who had abandoned his toddler sons returning 12 years later to take them on a brutal road trip, to either toughen them up, somehow make amends, or just to torture them. It's never really clear. All the boys know of their father is from an old photograph.

The younger son, Ivan (Ivan Dobranravov), has a perpetual scowl on his face in defiance of the prodigal father. Young Dobranravov, though, struggles to make the anger convincing, looking more like Opie Taylor acting against type in a Mayberry school play. Andrey (Vladimir Garin) is more forgiving, but then again, he doesn't feel the sting of his father's wrath as much as Ivan does.

Konstanin Lavronenko is the epitome of the intense, menacing father figure. Thankfully, this one clocks in at under two hours. The plot is nearly as harrowing for the viewer as it is for the boys, as filmmaker Andrey Zvyaginstev ("Leviathan," which we skipped, and this year's "Loveless") never lets you relax into thinking that everyone here -- in particular the boys -- will be OK. The challenges to the kids can be Job-like. (Or Noah-like: It rains a lot.) If you find yourself tempted to give in, then just fast forward a bit. The last 20 minutes are surprising and profound, making this early work of the Russian auteur just worth seeing.

BONUS TRACK
The "Foxtrot" trailer: