A brave, taut and explosive thriller from Andrey Zvyagintsev that brilliantly melds the personal and the political.

Russia 2022. Successful businessman Gleb (Dmitriy Mazurov) lives in a beautiful waterfront home with his wife Galina (Iris Lebedeva) and their young son. Though politically connected, Gleb is not immune from the radical changes in Russian society and finds himself under extreme pressure to quell panic and keep his company running. Galina meanwhile feels the constant pressure of having to be the perfect wife and mother. When he begins to suspect that Galina is having an affair, the usually considered Gleb makes a fateful decision that will threaten emotional and moral collapse.

A Golden Lion winner at Venice for “The Return” and a frequent prize winner at Cannes, Zvyaginstev (“Leviathan”, “Loveless”, “Elena”) is the great cinematic chronicler of Russian society over the last two decades. Here, once again working with cinematographer Mikhail Krichman whose crisp imagery is as effective as ever, he offers a searing portrait of a family and a society in existential peril. At the height of his considerable powers, Zvyangintsev has characteristically made a film that’s urgent, complex and provocative.

The film won the Grand Prix for Best Film at Cannes. “Minotaur” has been selected as France’s entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.