The Return
The events of the film unfold over six days and tell about the mysterious journey of a strange man and his two teenage sons who had never seen him before. Vanya and Andrey, for how long they remember, lived with their mother, who once told them that their father was a pilot. But one ordinary Monday, dad appears in their house and takes the brothers on a hike to a small island in the middle of a forest lake.
The film earned $8.5M at the global box office.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Return (2003) reveals strategically placed narrative design, characteristic of Andrey Zvyagintsev's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 51 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.3, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Andrei and Ivan play with friends at the water tower. Andrei is dared to jump from the high platform but freezes in fear, establishing his timid nature and the mockery he endures.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when The boys see their father for the first time, asleep in bed—a mysterious, almost Christ-like figure. His sudden appearance after years of absence disrupts their entire world and sense of identity.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to The boys leave home with their father on a fishing trip, entering an uncertain journey into the wilderness. This marks their departure from the maternal world into a harsh paternal realm., moving from reaction to action.
At 55 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat The father's harshness intensifies. He leaves Ivan stranded on the roadside as punishment, revealing his cold, uncompromising nature. The boys realize this journey may be dangerous, and their father is unknowable., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 83 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Ivan climbs the water tower to escape his father's wrath. In pursuing him, the father falls to his death. The boys witness their father's broken body—literal death. Everything they sought to understand is now forever lost., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 88 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. The boys realize they must return home alone, without their father and without answers. They understand they can only move forward, transformed by the experience even if they cannot comprehend it., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Return's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping The Return against these established plot points, we can identify how Andrey Zvyagintsev utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Return within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Andrei and Ivan play with friends at the water tower. Andrei is dared to jump from the high platform but freezes in fear, establishing his timid nature and the mockery he endures.
Theme
The boys' mother tells them their father has returned. The grandmother's quiet reaction hints at the thematic question: What does it mean to have a father? What is masculinity and authority?
Worldbuilding
The boys' world without a father: their relationship with each other, their mother, grandmother, and neighborhood. Andrei is sensitive and fearful; Ivan is rebellious and protective. They live in a matriarchal household.
Disruption
The boys see their father for the first time, asleep in bed—a mysterious, almost Christ-like figure. His sudden appearance after years of absence disrupts their entire world and sense of identity.
Resistance
The boys debate and resist their father's authority. He is stern, demanding, and enigmatic. They struggle to understand who he is and whether to accept him. The father announces they will take a trip together.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
The boys leave home with their father on a fishing trip, entering an uncertain journey into the wilderness. This marks their departure from the maternal world into a harsh paternal realm.
Mirror World
The father-son dynamic crystallizes as the father disciplines and tests the boys. The relationship itself becomes the "B story" that explores themes of authority, masculinity, and what fathers owe their sons.
Premise
The journey continues with escalating tests and conflicts. The father is demanding and mysterious, conducting strange errands. The boys experience the wilderness, learning survival skills while questioning their father's intentions and authority.
Midpoint
The father's harshness intensifies. He leaves Ivan stranded on the roadside as punishment, revealing his cold, uncompromising nature. The boys realize this journey may be dangerous, and their father is unknowable.
Opposition
Tensions escalate as the father becomes more tyrannical. They reach a remote island where the father conducts mysterious business with a buried chest. Ivan's rebellion grows while Andrei struggles between obedience and loyalty to his brother.
Collapse
Ivan climbs the water tower to escape his father's wrath. In pursuing him, the father falls to his death. The boys witness their father's broken body—literal death. Everything they sought to understand is now forever lost.
Crisis
Shock and grief. The boys must process their father's death and their own complicity. They struggle to bring his body back to the boat, but it sinks into the water with him, erasing all physical evidence of his existence.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
The boys realize they must return home alone, without their father and without answers. They understand they can only move forward, transformed by the experience even if they cannot comprehend it.
Synthesis
The boys navigate back to shore and drive home in silence. They arrive with only a photograph as proof their father existed. They have survived the ordeal, fundamentally changed, carrying the weight of unknowable loss.
Transformation
The boys look at the photograph from the trip, but their father's image has mysteriously faded, leaving only themselves visible. Andrei has been tested and transformed, but the mystery of fatherhood remains unsolved—haunting and absent.