Vidmate | Minotaur: Betrayal in a Russian Town in 2022
Andrey Zvyagintsev's 2026 drama Minotaur tells the story of a marriage in crisis against the backdrop of the political upheaval of 2022 Russia.
Dmitriy Mazurov plays Gleb. He's the successful director of a transport company living in a provincial town in Russia with his wife Galina and their son.
For viewers encountering the title through searches involving New Vidmate, the confirmed film is a serious political and domestic drama rather than an action movie.
Gleb's life begins to fall apart in two directions.
At home, Gleb begins to believe Galina, played by Iris Lebedeva, is having an affair. At the office, the local authorities want him to provide transport workers for the mobilization.
With his sense of control threatened, Gleb begins to make decisions that reflect the pressure around him. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Gleb Begins With A Comfortable Life
In the beginning, Gleb seems successful.
He is rich, successful at work, and lives in a modern house with his wife Galina and their son. From the outside, his life looks well-organized.
It's a deception.
The political situation around his company changes dramatically following the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Local authorities expect all businesses to assist in the mobilization.
For Gleb, this means identifying workers from his company who will be sent for service. (Film at Lincoln Center)
Zvyagintsev uses Gleb's comfortable life to examine what happens when someone used to living a life of privilege, suddenly has this privilege pulled away and, in its place, faces pressures he cannot fully control.
Galina's Distance Causes Another Crisis
At the same time, Galina, Gleb's wife, becomes more distant and he begins to think that she is having an affair.
He begins to obsess over the situation instead of being calm about the uncertainty he faces.
He is doing the same in his professional life, trying to regain control over his situation at his company, which is also in a state of crisis and falling apart.
Film at Lincoln Center states that the movie explores marital distrust and infidelity alongside the corruption of the political and governmental sphere.
The two issues are intertwined.
The way that Gleb deals with his wife and the way that he deals with the rest of the world, politically, share the same approach toward power and control.
Dmitriy Mazurov and Iris Lebedeva Lead the Cast
Dmitriy Mazurov takes on the role of Gleb, and Iris Lebedeva portrays Galina.
The supporting cast members include Boris Kudrin, Yuriy Zavalnyouk, Varvara Shmykova, Juris Žagars, Anatoliy Beliy, and Vladimir Friedman. (MUBI)
Zvyagintsev keeps the story focused on Gleb, however Galina's dissatisfaction shows that Gleb's life, in fact, is not as secure and certain as he thinks.
This challenges Gleb's belief that he is in control.
Rather than treating the marriage as a separate romantic subplot, Zvyagintsev shows the parallel that exists with the larger, political world.
For viewers who find this movie using a Vidmate download app, this is one of the primary ideas Zvyagintsev tries to portray with this film.
Andrey Zvyagintsev returns with another political drama
Andrey Zvyagintsev writes, directs, produces and edits Minotaur
Simon Lyashenko also writes, while Mikhail Krichman does the cinematography. Music is done by Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine. (MUBI)
It is an official co-production between France, Latvia and Germany.
Zvyagintsev has publicly opposed the war and has been living outside Russia. The Cannes official selection describes Minotaur as Zvyagintsev's 'examination of the impact of the war on Russian society through one family and one businessman'. (Festival de Cannes)
The screenplay was also inspired by Claude Chabrol's The Unfaithful Wife, in particular the way suspicion and paranoia are expressed within a marriage. Zvyagintsev relocates this to contemporary Russia and combines it with the pressures of political complicity and mobilization. (Rialto Film)
Cannes Awarded Minotaur the Grand Prix
Minotaur had its world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it also won the Grand Prix. (Festival de Cannes)
It also screened at the 2026 film festivals of New York, San Sebastian, Telluride and Toronto. (MUBI)
The official running times differ slightly.
Cannes puts it at 2 hours 20 minutes, MUBI at 2 hours 21 minutes and the New York Film Festival at 2 hours 22 minutes. (Festival de Cannes)
Minotaur Opens November 20
MUBI will release Minotaur in select theaters in the U.S. on November 20, 2026. (MUBI)
The movie shows two crises that at first appear to be unrelated.
Gleb believes his wife is unfaithful, and in the meantime, he has to use his power to decide which employees he'll send to fight in the war.
Zvyagintsev gradually shows how these two things are connected.
Gleb is not prepared to fight for the things he believes in. He is not ready to risk his life to protect his beliefs or for the defense of his family and friends. He wants to distance himself from the consequences and the corruption of the system that allow him to lead a comfortable life. When he tries to gain back the power he had at home and at work, he shows the world his true self, someone people around him did not know existed.
This shows how Minotaur is more than a story about infidelity.
It shows how all of us maintain private kingdoms of power with compromises and how these things can affect society, and how there can be a failure to recognize how that power reflects itself in a much larger social sphere. The maze that the title alludes to, surrounds Gleb, but it also represents a system of the choices, compromises and of the ways he attempts to control the things around him.