Minotaur
classified 18Subtitled screening
★★★★★
"Tremendous. A scorching noir." - The Guardian
Intrigue, corruption, betrayal, survival: the walls of the maze are closing in.
Russia, 2022. Amidst the comfortable trappings of affluence and domesticity, corporate executive Gleb (Dmitriy Mazurov) finds himself under siege on all fronts. At home, he is haunted by suspicions that his increasingly distant wife Galina (Iris Lebedeva) is unfaithful. At work, he contends with a demand from local authorities to draft a quota of employees for the war in Ukraine. Desperate to keep his hands clean, Gleb struggles to reassert control even as the collapse of his carefully ordered life seems fated to accelerate toward violence.
A pressure cooker in cinematic form, Minotaur uncovers and indicts the heart of societal darkness with searing clarity. Uniting intimately-drawn performances and stark visual power, France’s Best International Feature Film entry to the 99th Academy Awards® is peerless work from an indisputable master.
The latest from Oscar® nominated writer-director Andrey Zvyagintsev (Loveless, Leviathan), Cannes Grand Prix winner Minotaur is a twist-laden parable for our times.
WATERSHED RECOMMENDS
"Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev has made some of the most distinctive and intensely cinematic explorations of the moral corruption under the surface of Russian life (to such a degree that he has fallen foul of the Putin regime). With his new film Minotaur, beautifully shot in magnificently detailed Cinemascope, he reworks Claude Chabrol’s intimate story of adultery and revenge, La Femme infidèle, against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The corruption he has so vividly portrayed is now well and truly above surface. Masterful cinema and one of the best of the year."
Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator
Screening in as part of the European Award Season in association with the European Film Academy.
The Tue 24 Nov 17:10 screening will be followed by a ‘Thought in Action’ discussion with Connor Doak (University of Bristol) and a UWE Philosophy student, chaired by Francesco Tava and presented in partnership with the Philosophy and Politics & International Relations Departments at UWE.
Everyone welcome!
- Minotaur on Tue 24 Nov and Tue 1 Dec are part of our Cinébites deal: get 30% off any main dish in the Café & Bar with a valid ticket for Club Shed members.
- Minotaur on Fri 27 Nov 11:00 is an Elevenses screening. Get a free tea or filter coffee when you purchase a cake from the Café & Bar.