A Child Goes Missing In Trailer For Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes Sensation ‘Loveless’

While it might be too early to start making Palme d’Or predictions, and knowing that the jury is sometimes prone to making offbeat decisions, at the very least, Andrey Zvyagintsev‘s “Loveless” has become one of the early highlights of the Cannes Film Festival. Jessica Kiang’s A-grade review called it “a feelbad film of gargantuan reach and effect, and a brave, horrified commentary on a whole nation” and while this new trailer is only in Russian, you can feel the power of the film pulsing through.

READ MORE: The 20 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2017 Cannes Film Festival

Maryana Spivak and Alexey Rozin lead the film as a married couple going through a tremendously acrimonious split, where one of the major points of contention is who will care for their 12 year-old son Alyosha — who neither really want. However, things take a turn when the child goes missing, and the film unfolds into a caustic critique about the state of contemporary Russia. Here’s the official synopsis:

In LOVELESS, Zhenya and Boris are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations. Already embarking on new lives, each with a new partner, they are impatient to start again, to turn the page – even if it means threatening to abandon their 12-year-old son Alyosha. Until, after witnessing one of their fights, Alyosha disappears. 

Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in the U.S.