Tchaikovsky's Wife

Tchaikovsky's Wife (Russian: Жена Чайковского, romanized: Zhena Chaikovskogo) is a 2022 Russian biographical drama film written and directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, starring Alyona Mikhaylova and Odin Biron.[1][2] The film is a participant in the competition program of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]

Tchaikovsky's Wife
Directed byKirill Serebrennikov
Written byKirill Serebrennikov
Produced by
  • Ilya Stewart
  • Carole Baraton
  • Yohann Comte
  • Mike Goodridge
  • Pierre Mazars
Starring
Production
companies
  • Charades
  • Hype Film
  • Logical Pictures
  • Bord Cadre Films
  • Kinoprime Foundation
Release date
  • May 18, 2022 (2022-05-18) (Cannes)
Running time
145 minutes
CountriesRussia
France
Switzerland
LanguageRussian

Premise

Set in the Russian Empire during the second half of the 19th century, the film is about the wife of the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. She cannot accept her husband's homosexuality and as a result, gradually loses her mind.[5]

Cast

Release

The film was presented at the 75th Cannes Film Festival's main competition on May 18, 2022 (Day 2).[6] In the context of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, European Film Academy president Agnieszka Holland criticised the decision to screen a Russian film at the Cannes' main competition, noting that Kirill Serebrennikov "used [the film's festival press conference] to praise a Russian oligarch and compare the tragedy of Russian soldiers to Ukrainian defenders. I would not give him such a chance at this very moment",[7] even though Serebrennikov openly condemns the war and for this all his productions in his home country were cancelled.[8][9][10]

Reception

Film critic Zinaida Pronchenko negatively assessed the film: "One continuous ridiculous metaphor of the Russian world".[11] On a contrary, Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian praised the film as far superior to Serebrennikov's previous Petrov's Flu, and described Alyona Mikhailova's performance as tremendous.[12]

Tchaikovsky's Wife has an approval rating of 86% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 reviews, and an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critical consensus states: "If at times opaquely and certainly prolongedly, Tchaikovski's Wife elegantly captures a heartbroken woman's obsession with her prominent spouse who struggled with his own censured sexuality".[13] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14]

See also

References
  1. «Бюллетень кинопрокатчика»: Каннский фестиваль рассмотрит для участия фильмы трех российских режиссеров
  2. «Жену Чайковского» Серебренникова и «Сказку» Сокурова могут показать в Каннах
  3. Фильм Серебренникова «Жена Чайковского» вошёл в основной конкурс Каннского кинофестиваля
  4. "Russian Directors Confront Fleeing Putin's War and Defy Calls for Russia Film Boycott". Variety.
  5. Жена Чайковского (2022)
  6. Valerie Hopkins (May 18, 2022). "With Tchaikovsky's Wife, Kirill Serebrennikov tackles a Russian taboo". The New York Times.
  7. Holdsworth, Nick (May 21, 2022). "European Film Academy President Agnieszka Holland Slams Cannes for Welcoming a Russian Movie". Variety.
  8. Thorpe, Vanessa (2022-05-19). "Russian Cannes contender defends Roman Abramovich as a 'patron of the arts'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  9. Rosenstein, Tatiana (2022-05-21). "Russian Director Kirill Serebrennikov Condemns War at Cannes Festival". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  10. "Bolshoi ballet about Nureyev dropped due to ban on 'LGBT propaganda'". The Guardian. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  11. Zinaida, Pronchenko (June 30, 2022). "Цвет несвободы: о чём фильм "Жена Чайковского" Кирилла Серебренникова". Афиша Daily.
  12. Bradshaw, Peter (2022-05-18). "Tchaikovsky's Wife review – love turns to obsession in an off-key marriage". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  13. Tchaikovsky's Wife — Rotten Tomatoes
  14. Tchaikovsky's Wife — Metacritic
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