Exiled Russian filmmaker Zvyagintsev

Exiled Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev takes on Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine in 'Minotaur', a drama about conscription and moral compromise released nearly five years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.

Oscar Entry for Best International Film

The film won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival this year and is an entry for the 2027 Oscar for best international film.

Film Depicts War's Human Cost

One scene shows Russian conscripts boarding a bus for the front, with a father saying goodbye to his teenage son, while the mother of another screams in anguish.

Moral Dilemma in War Zone

Later, the image of an older recruit appears on a roadside billboard: he is dead and celebrated as a war hero.

Gleb's Family and Military Pressure

The story centres on Gleb, the owner of a logistics company who is coming to grips with his wife having an affair, while being pressured by the local mayor to identify 14 employees for military service.

Zvyagintsev's Perspective

For a director who has lived there, was born there, and speaks only Russian ... how could he not talk about what has become the main, if not the most important, event of recent years?

“For a director who has lived there, was born there, and speaks only Russian ... how could he not talk about what has become the main, if not the most important, event of recent years?”

Zvyagintsev in France Since 2021

The 62-year-old director, best known internationally for 'Leviathan' and 'Loveless', both Oscar nominated, now lives in France, having left Russia in 2021, months before Moscow launched what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.