(ANSA) - CANNES, 12 JUL - It can be said that if THE FRENCHDISPATCH by Wes Anderson tells the fantastic soul of America, PETROV'S FLU by Kirill Serebrennikov, also competing in the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the one most full of history and madness, even alcoholic, of Russia. Absent the director, blocked in his country by a criminal conviction, the festival however wanted to launch a political message in its support: the actors of the film climbed the steps of the Monte des Marches for the premiere wearing a red badge with the initials "KS", also shown by the president of the Pierre Lescure festival and the general delegate Thierry Frémaux, who welcomed them at the top. And in the stalls of the Grande TheaterLumiere the chair that should have hosted Serebrennikov remained empty. In fact, at the end of the screening,thanks to a video call, the director was able to greet and thank the festival and the public live.
What does the film tell in which confusion, noise, intertwining stories, snow and vodka reign? A day in the life of a cartoonist and his family in post-Soviet Russia.
Based on the novel 'The Petrovs In and Around the Flu' by Alexey Salnikov, PETROV'S FLU reveals itself, sequence after sequence, a hallucinated journey between reality and imagination. This is the story.
Petrov (Semyon Serzin) is a mechanic, while his wife Petrova (Čulpan Nailevna Chamatova) is a librarian. They are divorced, but still live under the same roof with their son, an elementary school child. Now Petrov, in his late 30s, is driving home from work aboard a trolley bus full of very agitated people when he realizes he has a fever. Shortly after, without even realizing it, he finds himself inside a hearse - the deceased has in fact woken up and left - drinking with another person. Finally, at Petrov's home he finds his ex-wife and son, both of whom have the flu. "I hope that when the world is able to travel again, I will be able to join you all," he said in an interview with Variety. "I had my own history of imprisonment. Now it's like a global fashion,"I'm a kind of pioneer "jokes the 51-year-old director. (ANSA).