Sawt Falasteen - Russia's Zvyagintsev sets film amid 'disaster' Ukraine war

"Minotaur" by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker, making his first movie in nine years and his first in exile, focuses on a wealthy Russian couple struggling with a floundering marriage as the country goes to war with Ukraine.

"As it is, this film won’t receive a distribution certificate (in Russia). But ... the piracy industry is strong, so everyone who wants to see it will definitely see it," Zvyagintsev told AFP at the Cannes Film Festival where the film was given a rapturous reception.

Shot in Latvia, it features the corruption, moral failures and hard-drinking that helped make his 2014 hit "Leviathan" a searing portrait of Vladimir Putin's Russia.

The war serves as the ominous background to the drama, with men being drafted for the front, tanks rumbling by on trainlines, while anti- and pro- war symbols can be found on the cars and walls of the surrounding town.

Asked how the film might be viewed by Russians who watch pirated copies or use VPNs to get around internet censorship rules, he said he expected many to understand his views.

"Those who agree that it’s time to put an end to this hell, and that it’s a nightmare and a disaster for Russia, those people will understand this film clearly, in solidarity with the makers of the film, and there will be a great many of them, I’m sure of that," he said.

- 'Death's door' -

The 62-year-old was unable to walk for a year and spent 40 days in an induced coma during his treatment in Europe after an extreme reaction to Russia's Sputnik V Covid vaccine.

He made the difficult decision to flee his homeland afterwards and now splits his time between Paris and Cannes.

"I was at death’s door. It's almost as if I crossed over to the other side, and on the other side, I told myself it wasn’t all that interesting. What is interesting is what happens here," he told AFP.

"I made the decision to turn my life into something much more intense than it used to be."

All of Zvyagintsev's last films -- "Elena", "Leviathan" and "Loveless" -- have won prizes at Cannes.

"Minotaur" -- which got a 12-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Tuesday -- is likely to be a frontrunner for the Palme d'Or prize for best film which will be handed out on Saturday.

It features two little-known Russian actors in the lead roles, Dmitriy Mazurov, who still lives in Moscow, and Iris Lebedeva, who moved to Dubai in December 2022.

"For me, in art, in theatre, in cinema, there are no borders, there is no territory; there is only one shared and universal world, and that is the world of art," Mazurov told AFP. "My dream is that (the film) absolutely gets shown in Russia."

Lebedeva told AFP the war in the background was "like a process that forces individuals to make choices, and what matters is each person’s ethical choice. The context is there as something impersonal, something that compels individual to reveal themselves."

A total of 22 films are competing for the Palme d'Or.

Critics' favorites so far include historical drama "Fatherland" from Polish director Pawel Pawlikoski, "All of a Sudden" by Japanese auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi or blood-splattered action film "Hope" by South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin.

Unlike previous editions, which have featured Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Top Gun premieres, no major Hollywood studio has chosen Cannes this year to launch a blockbuster.

Reasons cited for their absence include scheduling issues, cost-cutting, their growing preference for tightly controlled social media-led releases, and the risk of a mauling from the Cannes critics.

Y.Shaath--SF-PST