** Originally scheduled as a Mystery Screening Double Feature, tonight's films were selected by our members by popular vote in early May 2015 **

The stunning, Oscar-nominated new film from modern Russian master Andrey Zvyagintsev, Leviathan is a gripping parable of class, faith and corruption, centering on a dispute between a small-time mechanic and his local authorities that reaps unimaginable and extraordinary consequences.

Kolia (Serebryakov) lives in a coastal village near the Barents Sea in Northern Russia, running an auto-repair shop from the garage of his childhood home, shared with young wife Lilya (Lyadova) and his teenage son from a previous marriage.

The family’s world is under threat: Vadim Sergeyich (Madyanov), the imperious town Mayor, has slapped a compulsory acquisition order on Kolia’s prime land, earmarking the site for a development of undetermined but dubious funding (and offering risible, token compensation). To Sergeyich’s great surprise, Kolia enlists the help of ex-army friend Dmitri (Vdovitchenkov), now a hotshot lawyer from Moscow. Dmitri has uncovered some highly incriminating evidence that he believes will force the Mayor to back down, even if he has secrets of his own. Soon tempers and passions are inflamed, events spiral out of control, and lives are placed at stake.

Zvyagintsev’s deftly-drawn and morally complex thriller is an electrifying, vodka-fuelled examination of the familial, sexual and judicial tangles of ordinary human lives, played out against the monstrous machinations of Putin’s seemingly unchecked regime. Saturated with incredible imagery, superb performances and sly, Kafkaesque humour, this astounding and frequently surprising masterwork should, quite simply, not be missed.

** Originally scheduled as a Mystery Screening Double Feature, tonight's films were selected by our members by popular vote in early May 2015 **

The heralded Orizzonti winner of Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, EASTERN BOYS is the astonishing second feature from Robin Campillo, editor and co-writer of Laurent Cantet’s Palme d’Or winner The Class, and more recently creator of the international phenomenon Les revenants (The Returned).

The film centres on Daniel (Of Gods and Men’s Rabourdin), a successful if solitary middle-aged Frenchman, who cruises the Gare du Nord railway station and solicits a handsome young foreigner Marek (Emelyanov). After arranging to meet at his apartment, Daniel’s world is upended when someone else knocks on his door, triggering a series of incidents that completely erode his wellbeing and security.

Aesthetically bold, audaciously constructed and unafraid of provocative truths about masculinity and sexuality, Eastern Boys has a ripped-from-the-headlines relevance to some of the most important issues facing modern Europe. Skillfully keeping viewers on a knife’s-edge, this mesmerising film stamps Campillo as a distinctive and singular voice in contemporary world cinema.