All articles tagged with #minotaur
At Cannes, Andrey Zvyagintsev used his Grand Prix acceptance to directly appeal to Vladimir Putin, urging him to end the war and the carnage. His new film Minotaur—a Russia-set domestic thriller and his first feature in about a decade—is in competition at Cannes and the Sydney Film Festival.
At Cannes, Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev used his Grand Prix moment to urge President Putin to end the Ukraine war, saying millions on both sides dream of stopping the carnage; his film Minotaur, set during the invasion, finished runner-up to Cristian Mungiu's Fjord, and he said he is ashamed of Russia's actions while living in exile in France, noting that many Russians will see the film via pirated copies or VPNs.
Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord won the Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, with Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur taking the Grand Prix and The Dreamed Adventure by Valeska Grisebach winning the Jury Prize. Best Director was shared by Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo for The Black Ball and Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland (tie); Best Actress went to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for All of a Sudden, and Best Actor to Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for Coward. The awards also honored A Man of His Time for Best Screenplay, plus various prizes across Un Certain Regard, Caméra d’Or, and honorary recognitions for Peter Jackson, Barbara Streisand, and John Travolta.
IndieWire critic David Ehrlich argues Cannes 2026 offered a weak lineup, but three films—Camp Miasma (Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Mishima) by Jane Schoenbrun, Club Kid by Pawel Pawlikowski, and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur—stood out for their bold formal daring and incisive examinations of identity and reality. Camp Miasma uses autofictional horror to map mind and body, Club Kid follows a sober, maturation arc of a gay Manhattan scenester, and Minotaur places a domestic crisis within a brutal geopolitical frame, culminating in a haunting final image. Together, they demonstrate cinema’s power to disrupt and redefine perception even amidst a festival lineup Ehrlich found lacking overall.
At the 79th Cannes Film Festival, Fjord won the Palme d'Or, with Minotaur taking the Grand Prix and The Dreamed Adventure the Jury Prize; Coward shared Best Actor, while La Bola Negra shared Best Director and A Man Of His Time won Screenplay. The piece argues Fjord has strong Oscar potential as an English-language entry, Minotaur could pursue international submission, and All Of A Sudden faces tougher odds. Overall, Cannes provides some Oscar momentum but not the slam-dunk impact of recent years, with American films underrepresented this year.
At the Cannes Film Festival, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur premieres as a stark drama about murder and corruption in Putin-era Russia, drawing attention for its timely political themes and festival impact.
At the Cannes Film Festival, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur drew an eight-minute standing ovation as it delivers a dark, satirical portrait of corruption and infidelity in Putin-era Russia, following a prosperous businessman and his troubled marriage; the film was shot in Latvia to stand in for Russia and marks Zvyagintsev’s return to directing after a long illness.
Set in wartime provincial Russia, Minotaur follows a ruthless oligarch who hatches a scheme to draft 14 workers for the front while masking a murder and his wife’s infidelity, delivering a chilling, noir meditation on cynicism and cover-ups, with stark direction and strong performances.
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur returns with a bleak, politically charged thriller that reimagines a classic cuckold noir as a dismal portrait of modern Russia. Based on Claude Chabrol’s The Unfaithful Wife and shot in Latvia, it follows a shipping magnate whose wife’s affair triggers a devastating descent, anchored by Iris Lebedeva’s chilling performance and a glacial, masterful visual style. Premiering at Cannes 2026, the film delivers insistently grim imagery and an unresolved finale that cements the director’s formidable comeback.
Italian artist-turned-producer Marco Perego is making Cannes history with Leaf Entertainment by having three films in the main competition: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, and James Gray’s Paper Tiger. He frames Leaf as a “community of artists” and explains his role is to support auteurs rather than dictate their work, while addressing the financing and distribution hurdles facing contemporary world cinema and advocating a balance between theatrical experiences and streaming.