Russia’s Zvyagintsev says war theme in his Cannes entry ‘Minotaur’ was matter of fate
CANNES, France: Fate dictated that Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s first feature since leaving his homeland, “Minotaur” — competing at the Cannes Film Festival — was set during the Ukraine war, he told journalists on Wednesday.
The director said the idea to adapt French director Claude Chabrol’s 1969 marital drama “La Femme Infidele” came to him soon after his previous Cannes entry, “Loveless,” was released nearly a decade ago.
Zvyagintsev said he found what he described as a gap in the original’s lack of focus on the protagonist’s work life. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and subsequent mobilization while the director was working on the script proved an apt setting to better flesh out the protagonist.
Chabrol “focused on the crime and on the relationship between husband and wife, whereas life itself — fate — brought in this adjustment, and very appropriately,” he said.
