A lustrous and passionate portrait of paternal bonds, Father and Son is a majestic new film by Alexander Sokurov. Due to the painterly cinematography, the lack of naturalism and the ambiguous, unmistakably erotic relationship at its core, Father and Son is also one of the Russian director's most mysterious works. Viewers who savoured Russian Ark -- Sokurov's sublime one-take tour of the Hermitage Museum, which enjoyed a four-month run in local theatres last year -- are likely to find this film daunting, though it's worth the challenge.

Father and Son is also a less harrowing viewing experience than its companion work, 1997's Mother and Son. (Both are parts of a planned "family trilogy.") Whereas the earlier film provoked a profound sense of disease with its depiction of a man tending to his dying mother, Father and Son is lighter and lustier in mood: more playful wrestling match than gruelling death march. It helps that the two main characters -- young soldier Alexei (Alexei Nejmyshev) and his unnamed father (Andrej Shetinin) -- are both so hale and hearty, they could've stepped out of a Bruce Weber photo spread. Though their ages are separated by 20 years, they could be mistaken for lovers. They spend so much time gazing into each other's eyes, they very well could be.

Sokurov was reportedly miffed at such suggestions when the film debuted at Cannes last year -- he was after something more ethereal than carnal. Indeed, Sokurov favours the sort of soft, gauzy lighting that most directors use to portray heaven. (The unsynchronized dialogue and surreal sound design add to the disorienting effect.) This unusual context allows Sokurov to delve into some provocative matters, like the feelings of mortality that the son provokes in his father, the spectral but unmistakably sexual role of Alexei's deceased mother with the father-son dynamic, as well as Alexei's fear that he must ultimately sever this very powerful bond. The fact that Father and Son treats these matters with such gravity yet feels anything but ponderous is evidence of the director's unique prowess.

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