< Back to main Festival page

A man, woman, and their son sit at a long wooden dinner table at night, behind them is a dark forest seen through large windows. They converse among their plates of food and wine glasses, the teen and woman happily interact as the man at the head of the table sits tensely with his hands folded at his mouth.

Minotaur

  Andrey Zvyagintsev  |  France, Germany, Latvia

Gleb, a middle-aged businessman, lives comfortably in modern-day Russia with his wife and teenage son. On the surface, the blissful family personifies success: he has a prestigious and powerful job, they own a luxurious home in the woods and enough money to indulge a penchant for fine dining. Their idyll is threatened, however, when the town’s mayor tasks Gleb with enlisting a quota of employees to aid in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Compounding his stress, Gleb is beginning to suspect that his wife is having an affair. As the pressure mounts, he decides to take action.

An excoriating study of societal decay and corruption, Minotaur surveys the cultural rot of Russia’s upper-middle-class. Taking inspiration from Claude Chabrol’s 1969 film The Unfaithful Wife, exiled Russian filmmaker Andrey Svyagintsev (Leviathan) imbues the film with dark sardonic humor and righteous moral rage.

 Russian 

 141 minutes

Screenings & Events

There are currently no upcoming screenings of this film.

Media

Film Credits

  • Nathanaël Karmitz, Charles Gillibert, Marco Perego, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Julia Zaytseva, Svetlana Punte, Max Pavlov, Roman Paul, Gerhard Meixner, Christiane Sommer, Yusuf Aslanyürek
  • Simon Lyashenko, Andrey Zvyagintsev
  • Andrey Zvyagintsev
  • Mikhail Krichman
  • Dmitriy Mazurov, Iris Lebedeva, Boris Kudrin, Yuriy Zavalnyouk, Varvara Zmykova, Vladimir Friedman
  • Evgueni, Sacha Galpérine
  • Dmitry Petrov, Michael Cerenzie, Michael Paletta, Timur Artemev, Patrick Sutter, Igor Pronin, Dmitry Saltykovsky, Kristina Poli, Erwin Miller
  • mk2 Films, CG Cinema, Forma Pro films, Razor Film

Sponsors

Cultural Support

logo: Villa Albertine | Consulate General of France in Chicagologo: French Embassy in the United States 156x125

You might also enjoy...

Two women in a government office, one standing above the desk, another seated behind it, having a passionate conversation. An American flag featured behind them.

14th

Ava DuVernay | U.S.

Ava DuVernay investigates the 14th Amendment, exploring its many facets, from who gets to belong in America to the rights they’re entitled to.

A woman looks up, melancholy, she is wrapped in blankets seated inside a rustic thatched shelter in black-and-white, surrounded by woven palm walls and bamboo flooring. With her are an unlit lantern, cups, and a book.

Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors

Lav Diaz | The Philippines

A 17th century Spanish priest brutally colonizing the Philippines orders his converts to transport a cartload of marble through a marauder-filled jungle.

A woman in pink with blonde curly hair and a patterned skirt dances happily with a man with black curly hair in a black button down and pants in front of a wall-to-wall library of vinyl records.

It Will Happen Tonight

Nanni Moretti | Italy, France, Spain

After an unforgettable meet-cute, Matteo and Greta’s paths cross over the years – but the timing is never right in this seductive tale of love …

Tickets on sale now!

See your most-anticipated screenings at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival.

GET YOUR TICKETS
close-link
Scroll to Top