Minotaur is set in a provincial Russian town and follows Gleb, a successful business executive whose carefully ordered life begins to unravel when he discovers that his wife, Galina, is involved in an affair. As professional pressures mount and his marriage deteriorates, Gleb becomes increasingly consumed by suspicion, anger and a desire to regain control. What begins as an intimate domestic drama gradually develops into a tense psychological story about power, responsibility and personal collapse. The film combines elements of family drama, crime thriller and tragedy while maintaining the careful observational style that has become one of Zvyagintsev’s trademarks. The lead roles are played by Dmitriy Mazurov and Iris Lebedeva, whose characters are at the centre of the film’s emotional conflict.
The project was filmed primarily in Latvia and represents an international coproduction involving France, Latvia and Germany. Zvyagintsev reunited with several longtime collaborators, including cinematographer Mikhail Krichman, whose visual work has been an essential part of the director’s films for many years. The production was backed by MK Productions, CG Cinéma, Razor Film and Forma Pro Films, with international sales handled by mk2 Films. The film’s careful visual design and atmospheric locations contribute to the sense of tension that runs throughout the story.
During the Cannes press conference, Zvyagintsev explained that the film originated from his long-standing interest in adapting Claude Chabrol’s 1969 film The Unfaithful Wife. He noted that he wanted to expand beyond the original story and explore aspects of the protagonist’s life that were not examined in Chabrol’s version. “Chabrol focused on the crime and on the relationship between husband and wife,” Zvyagintsev said, explaining that he wanted to place the character within a broader social environment while still keeping the emotional core of the story intact.
The director also spoke about the title. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature trapped within a labyrinth, and Zvyagintsev suggested that the image served as a metaphor for individuals struggling to find their way through moral and emotional confusion. Rather than presenting heroes and villains, he emphasized his interest in portraying flawed people facing difficult choices and living with the consequences of their actions.
Born in Novosibirsk in 1964, Andrey Zvyagintsev is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary European filmmakers. His debut feature, The Return (2003), won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and immediately established him as a major talent. He followed it with The Banishment (2007), Elena (2011), Leviathan (2014) and Loveless (2017). Both Leviathan and Loveless received Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, while Leviathan won the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes and Loveless received the Jury Prize.
The Cannes premiere of Minotaur was greeted with a lengthy standing ovation, reflecting the enthusiasm surrounding the director Zvyagintsev’s reputation as one of the leading auteurs of contemporary world cinema.
Credits:
Minotaur (France, Germany, Latvia)
Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Produced by MK2 FilmsCoproduced by Razor Filmproduktion, Forma Pro Films, Aslanyurek Film Production, CG Cinema
Supported by the Latvian Developement and Investement Agency (LIAA), the Riga Film Fund, Arte France Cinéma, LEAF Entertainment
