Andrei Zvyagintsev's "Minotaur" — an anti-war drama greeted with a standing ovation in Cannes

One of the most anticipated screenings took place in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival — renowned director Andrei Zvyagintsev presented his new film "Minotaur". This is the author's first work in the last nine years. The audience greeted the film with prolonged applause: after the final credits, viewers clapped for the film crew for seven minutes. The director himself couldn't hold back his emotions — while thanking the team, tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice trembled, writes BBC.

The script for the film was completed in the summer of 2024, written by Zvyagintsev together with debutant Semyon Lyashenko. Filming took place in the autumn of 2025 in Riga. The visual aspect of the film was handled by Mikhail Krichman, the director's regular cinematographer for previous films.

Unexpectedly, the main roles in "Minotaur" went to actors from popular Russian TV series, far removed from arthouse cinema — Dmitry Mazurov and Iris Lebedeva.

At the press conference in Cannes, Zvyagintsev explained that performers were sought through open castings worldwide: "We had no borders; we had auditions with actors from Argentina, London, South Africa, Moscow, specifically Dmitry's [auditions]."

The lead actress, Iris Lebedeva, admitted that the invitation from the acclaimed director literally saved her: "When I received the offer to star in Zvyagintsev's film, I was in a long emotional, creative, professional crisis. And then, imagine, I get this offer? For me, it's an uncompromising match in everything: in the script, in the role, in the partner."

Additionally, one of the supporting roles (HR department head Natasha) was played by Varvara Shmykova, who emigrated after the start of the full-scale war and now lives in Berlin.

Plot: Family Betrayal Against the Backdrop of Mobilization

The story unfolds in autumn 2022 in an unnamed Russian city. Outwardly, the plotline replicates Claude Chabrol's classic film "The Unfaithful Wife" (1969). Gleb Morozov (Dmitry Mazurov) and his wife Galina (Iris Lebedeva) live in a luxurious country house. Gleb suspects his wife of infidelity, and the progression from discovery to the murder of her photographer-lover is recreated with great precision.

But in Zvyagintsev's hands, this plot gains an entirely different depth. Gleb is the director of a logistics company where panic reigns due to the announced mobilization. While some employees queue at the Verkhny Lars checkpoint, the city administration issues conscription quotas to the enterprise. The decision of whom to send to the military enlistment office (and effectively, to their death) falls on Gleb's shoulders. The city mayor cynically advises choosing those who are "less needed for production."

The war in the film becomes the backdrop that allows Gleb to conceal his own crime — the murder of his wife's lover. Yet, the war is not discussed within the family: Gleb and Galina talk about everyday life, restaurants, and holidays.

While raising his son, Gleb gives him a life lesson that sounds symbolic in the context of the events: "Whoever starts a fight loses, because they are a fool."

The film's title alludes to the ancient Greek myth: Gleb's company must hand over 14 people to the military enlistment office — precisely the number of Athenians sacrificed to the Minotaur. In the film's finale, Gleb flies with his family for a vacation specifically to Crete.

First Critic Reviews

Critics note that "Minotaur" depicts a Russia of the "privileged minority": the characters live in interiors of cold tones, with an abundance of glass, while the tragedy of ordinary people breaks into the frame only episodically — for example, in the cry of a recruit's mother on the street.

"To call 'Minotaur' an anti-war film would be an understatement. However, it is not a poster or a protest, but a complex work of art. War is shown here as an evil close to absolute. But the film is not about immoral politicians or (God forbid) 'bad people,' but about the moral choice that a person sometimes makes, not fully understanding and forever changing their life," wrote film critic Anton Dolin, predicting that this is the first feature film about Russia in the era of the "special military operation" that is sure to go down in history.

Rights to screen the film in the USA, Great Britain, Ireland, and Latin American countries were acquired by major international distributor MUBI.

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