Father and Son

The film largely unfolds inside a compact rooftop apartment perched above an unidentified seaside city. The rooftop and view of the sea create an intimate, claustrophobic world where Father and Aleksei confront love, fear, and memory. The setting's quiet, coastal atmosphere amplifies the emotional intensity and frames the guardian-angel dynamic.

🕊️ Parental Love

Father's unconditional love guides the narrative, acting as Aleksei's anchor as well as a source of tension. The two-day weekend exposes how closeness can become dependence, and how Aleksei both craves and resists that care. The film frames this love as a paradox: protective and suffocating at once, a lifeline and a trap. Through Aleksei's nightmares, the movie explores how filial devotion persists even amid regret.

👨‍👦 Guardian Angel

Father is depicted as Aleksei's guardian angel, returning from death caused by his combat wounds to protect and comfort his son. Intertextual references to Rembrandt's Jacob Wrestling with the Angel anchor this role. This guardian figure helps explain their intense closeness, which some interpret as implying deeper intimacy. The motif reframes their relationship as both spiritual protection and a human bond fraught with complexity.

🔄 Structure & Time

Two narrative structures—one circular, one linear—frame the film, opening and closing with Father comforting Aleksei after a nightmare. The circular frame sets a recurring, guardian-like presence, while the linear sequence covers a two-day weekend of events that Aleksei strings into a single memory. This deliberate structure highlights how memory and perception shape the story. The film uses this duality to explore how time can feel simultaneous and fragmented.

🌊 Seaside Setting

Set in a seaside city, the location contributes to the film's contemplative mood. The coastal atmosphere and rooftop vantage point create a sense of openness paired with isolation, mirroring the emotional distance between characters. The sea backdrop reinforces the quiet, intimate drama at the core of the father–son relationship.