X
  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 58 m
  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 58 m
Tesnota (Closeness)

Summary 1998, Nalchik, the North Caucasus, Russia. 24-year-old Ilana works in her father’s garage to help him make ends meet. One evening, her extended family and friends gather to celebrate the engagement of her younger brother David. Later that night, the young couple is kidnapped, and a ransom demand delivered. In this close-knit Jewish encla...

Directed By: Kantemir Balagov

Written By: Anton Yarush, Kantemir Balagov

  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 58 m
  • 2020
  • Kino Lorber
  • 1 h 58 m

Tesnota (Closeness)

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 8 Critic Reviews
53
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
6.2
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Summary 1998, Nalchik, the North Caucasus, Russia. 24-year-old Ilana works in her father’s garage to help him make ends meet. One evening, her extended family and friends gather to celebrate the engagement of her younger brother David. Later that night, the young couple is kidnapped, and a ransom demand delivered. In this close-knit Jewish encla...

Directed By: Kantemir Balagov

Written By: Anton Yarush, Kantemir Balagov

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 8 Critic Reviews
53
50% Positive
4 Reviews
50% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 8 Critic Reviews
53
50% Positive
4 Reviews
50% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
83
Apr 30, 2020
With his arresting debut, Balagov seems to be on the cusp of greatness, all the more effective for the way he draws upon his personal history to craft unforgettable images.
By Bradley Warren FULL REVIEW
70
Apr 30, 2020
It is a grim, gruelling two hours that might benefit from some editing but Balagov is clearly a talent to watch and festivals championing new discoveries will want to take note.
By Allan Hunter FULL REVIEW
70
Apr 30, 2020
It is a grim, gruelling two hours that might benefit from some editing but Balagov is clearly a talent to watch and festivals championing new discoveries will want to take note.
By Allan Hunter FULL REVIEW
60
Apr 30, 2020
Occasionally, the narrative is almost as wilfully undisciplined as its commendably rebellious heroine.
By Tara Brady FULL REVIEW
50
Apr 30, 2020
Closeness, the original title of which, Tesnota, also apparently implies being walled-in or suffocated, is dramatically erratic, with tense and compelling sequences alternating with diffuse and/or flat interludes that don't advance the narrative or pay off in other ways.
By Todd McCarthy FULL REVIEW
50
Apr 30, 2020
Closeness is a tough-minded, rigorously composed, quite brilliantly acted story of the challenges of everyday religious prejudice and ethnic divides in the bleak heart of Russia’s North Caucasus, and in many ways Balagov’s uncompromising but stylized social realism rewards as much as it punishes.
By Jessica Kiang FULL REVIEW
40
Apr 30, 2020
This movie, which Balagov, a Nalchik native, states in an onscreen text is based on a true story, has a whole lot of “slow” and one very nasty burn.
By Glenn Kenny FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
6.2
60% Positive
3 Ratings
20% Mixed
1 Rating
20% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
6.2
60% Positive
3 Ratings
20% Mixed
1 Rating
20% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Example of Intonation, Alexander Sokurov's Fund, Lenfilm Studio, Komitet po Kulture Administratsii Sankt-Peterburga, Obshchestvennyj Fond Vladimira Smirova, Club 418
Release Date May 1, 2020
Duration 1 h 58 m
Genres
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Awards

East-West: Golden Arch International Film Awards
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
Nika Awards
• 5 Nominations
Russian Guild of Film Critics
• 2 Wins & 4 Nominations

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