Minotaur

Exiled Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev delivers another scathing portrait of his homeland.

At the centre is an affluent businessman whose life is split between a high-pressure job - where he is currently being pressured to choose which employees will be drafted into the “special military operation” - and a tense home life, where he suspects his wife is having an affair. As both worlds begin to crack, and the wider society grows more unstable, he is forced towards ever more reckless and desperate actions in an attempt to retain control.

Named after the sacrifice-demanding monster of Greek myth, Minotaur keeps the corruption of Putin’s Russia and the human cost of the war on both sides close to the surface. With echoes of classic political thrillers and a terrific central set piece, Zvyagintsev’s dark, claustrophobic drama builds steadily towards a devastating conclusion.