Oscar-tipped 'Leviathan' released in Russia, defying complaints

Oscar-tipped 'Leviathan' released in Russia, defying complaints

Russia's Oscar-tipped "Leviathan" was released in its home country on Thursday, showing on hundreds of screens in a censored version following harsh criticism from officials and Orthodox clerics. Andrei Zvyagintsev's bleak social drama, widely predicted to win best foreign-language film at this month's Oscars, was released on 650 screens across Russia, several months after it came out in the West. The film, a searing critique of Vladimir Putin's Russia, was set for release in November but was delayed by a new law banning swearing in cinemas that forced changes to its expletive-littered dialogue. In Russia, the movie, which is banned for anyone under 18, is being shown with all the swear words cut from the soundtrack without beeps.