This film is currently unavailable
Petrov's Flu
A comic book artist contracts flu during an epidemic and subsequently embarks on a strange journey through Russian society.
Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Overview
Kirill Serebrennikov (The Student, Leto) wrote the screenplay for Petrov’s Flu while under house arrest. One of Russia’s most controversial film and theatre directors, Serebrennikov was not allowed to travel abroad when the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Adapted from the novel by Aleksey Salnikov, which its author once described as being about ‘the beast within the person’, its freewheeling style and exaggerated scenes skirt the borders between the real and the imagined. Originally planned as a theatre production, its many extreme characterisations hit significant targets while providing an invigorating mix of performance and cinematic invention. Serebrennikov describes the novel as ‘carnivalesque’ and the film’s absurdism as ‘part of our life’. Traversing issues of taste, the violence it presents – whether real or imagined – might shock.
Related
The Machine that Kills Bad People The Machine that Kills Bad People
Comedy 1952 84 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini and Luciano Emmer
Roberto Rossellini's film about a photographer who is given the power to rid the Earth of 'evil-doers'.
La Belle et la Bête La Belle et la Bête
Fantasy 1946 95 mins Director: Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau’s ravishingly restored 1946 film is a cinematic classic. “Five stars. [This] magical exploration of the fairytale is a compelling and bizarre masterpiece” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future
Fantasy 2022 99 mins Director: Francisca Alegría
Francisca Alegría brings together family trauma and ecology into a poetic journey of rebirth. A mysterious and poetic tale on our collapsing ecosystem and finding balance.
Dreams That Money Can Buy Dreams That Money Can Buy
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1948 79 mins Director: Hans Richter
Dadaist Hans Richter attempts to bring the European avant-garde to the masses, with this story about a man who discovers he has the power to create dreams, and sets up a business selling them to others.
Medusa Medusa
Fantasy 2021 128 mins Director: Anita Rocha da Silveira
Electrifying genre-bending horror about a gang of marauding vigilantes who target women they deem to be sinful.
Born of Fire Born of Fire
Fantasy 1986 84 mins Director: Jamil Dehlavi
Peter Firth stars as a musician haunted by visions of a mystical nemesis, in this bold and poetic horror with stunning visuals.
The Machine that Kills Bad People The Machine that Kills Bad People
Comedy 1952 84 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini and Luciano Emmer
Roberto Rossellini's film about a photographer who is given the power to rid the Earth of 'evil-doers'.
Bicycle Thieves Bicycle Thieves
Drama 1948 89 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
Wild Men Wild Men
Comedy 2021 102 mins Director: Thomas Daneskov
In this razor-sharp black comedy featuring Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing), Martin flees to the mountains in a desperate attempt to cure his midlife crisis.
Girl Girl
Drama 2022 87 mins Director: Adura Onashile
Déborah Lukumuena and Le’Shantey Bonsu give stunning performances as a deeply connected mother and daughter in Adura Onashile’s tender drama.
Orphée Orphée
Drama 1950 96 mins Director: Jean Cocteau
Magical retelling of the Orpheus myth by poet, playwright, artist and filmmaker Jean Cocteau.
La Belle et la Bête La Belle et la Bête
Fantasy 1946 95 mins Director: Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau’s ravishingly restored 1946 film is a cinematic classic. “Five stars. [This] magical exploration of the fairytale is a compelling and bizarre masterpiece” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian