Russian film The Master and Margarita, directed by Michael Lockshin, an American citizen who grew up in Soviet Russia, has become a box-office success in the country. Released in Russia on January 25, the movie grossed over 600 million rubles (£5.2 million) in its first week alone. The story, based on a highly influential novel by Mikhail Bulgakov who wrote it between 1928 and 1940, revolves around a writer struggling with censorship under a totalitarian state. The writer then creates a book where a satanic figure emerges to take on the propaganda of an overbearing, atheistic government in the 1930s. The film is widely read as a direct critique of Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine and increasingly authoritarian rule over the country.
Receiving financial support from the state-backed Russian Cinema Fund, this film is one of the most expensive ever made in Russia, costing around £13.5 million. The support has fueled outrage among the right-wing observers who have spoken against the movie. Those against the film include a radical group called ‘Call of the People’ who accused it of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army, demanding a criminal case be opened against Lockshin. The channel Readovka Telegram, boasting millions of followers, described the director as “an ardent Russophobe and a trans-Ukrainian,” while television presenter Vladimir Solovyov called for a “serious investigation” into the film’s production. The film was initially set to release in 2023 by Universal Pictures, but the plans were abandoned after the invasion of Ukraine, and major studios withdrew from the Russian market. Russian distributor Atmosphere Kino has since released the film.
According to anonymous sources close to the film, Putin’s allies and defenders have been enraged by the success of the film. The source tells Variety, “The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down. It started out with just a few patriots. Now it’s on state TV. They want blood.” The film is yet to be screened in the UK
Read the full article on NME here: Read More