All articles tagged with #zvyagintsev
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.
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.