Last week, it was announced that “Petrov’s Flu,” the new Russian language film by Kirill Serebrennikov, will bow in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this summer for the pic’s world premiere. In addition, they’ve released an enticing trailer (see below) with English subtitles that echo the comedic tone and showcases Serebrennikov’s strong visual style.
Based on the novel “The Petrovs In and Around the Flu” by Alexey Salnikov, “Petrov’s Flu” is a “deadpan, hallucinatory romp through post-Soviet Russia. With the city in the throes of a flu epidemic, the Petrov family struggles through yet another day in a country where the past is never past, the present is a booze-fueled, icy fever dream of violence and tenderness, and where – beneath layers of the ordinary – things turn out to be quite extraordinary. Set somewhere between reality and imagination.”
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The dark comedy comes from Moscow’s Hype Film. “Petrov’s Flu” is also co-produced by Charades Productions, Logical Pictures, Bord Cadre Films, Razor Film Production, and Sovereign Films. The film was made with the support of Kinoprime, ARTE France Cinema, and ZDF. Bac Film is behind the film’s distribution in France. Charades is handling the international sales.
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Written and directed by Serebrennikov, “Petrov’s Flu” boasts an ensemble cast that includes Semyon Serzin (“Leto”), Chulpan Khamatova (“Good Bye, Lenin!”), Yulia Peresild, Yura Borisov, and Yuri Kolokolnikov (“Game of Thrones,” “Tenet”).
It’s been described as a visually arresting experience: rough, funny, violent, and psychedelic, and yet tender and poetic. A tale that is going to stick in the audience’s mind long after the credits roll. If the trailer is anything to go by, it might actually live up to that sentiment.
This will mark Serebrennikov’s third time at Cannes bringing films such as “Leto” and “The Student” to the film festival previously.
