Petrov’s Flu – Petrovy v grippe (2021)

Directed by: Kirill Serebrennikov | 145 minutes | drama, comedy, crime | Actors: Semyon Serzin, Chulpan Khamatova, Vladislav Semiletkov, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Aleksandr Ilin, Nikolai Kolyada, Yuriy Borisov, Yuliya Peresild, Olga Voronina, Semyon Shteynberg, Timofey Tribuntsev, Georgiy Kudrenkov, Vargeya Kudrenko, Ivan Ivan Dorn Yuliya Aug, Aleksandra Revenko, Husky

The car mechanic and cartoonist Petrov (Semyon Serzin) has a bad flu. Then you’d better stay home for a few days and have a good rest, you would say, but Petrov thinks differently. The wretch strolls through the drab streets of Russia’s Yekaterinburg, best known as the city where the Romanovs were executed, while he finds himself increasingly drawn into the maze of his childhood memories. The boundary between past and present is slowly fading for him. Meanwhile, Petrov’s ex-wife Petrova (Chulpan Khamatova) transforms from a skinny librarian to a murderous lunatic with superhuman powers, slaughtering anyone she finds even slightly disturbing. The question, of course, is whether this really happens, or whether it is part of Petrov’s state of mind.

There are those movies that confuse you from the start. There are also films that are difficult to classify by genre. ‘Petrov’s Flu’, the new film from director Kirill Serebrennikov, falls into both categories. ‘Petrov’s Flu’ has a bit of everything: action, drama, comedy, romance, science fiction, all compressed into a highly peculiar narrative. In terms of tone, this Russian print shoots in all directions. Contemplative scenes are regularly interspersed with brutal explosions of violence. Sometimes it seems like you are watching an Andrei Tarkovsky movie. At other times, ‘Petrov’s Flu’ is reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s early work. And then there are the necessary references to the work of George Orwell, Franz Kafka and James Joyce. It may be said: the influences of Serebrennikov are clearly noticeable.

The plot of ‘Petrov’s Flu’ is anything but ordinary. This makes for memorable moments, for example when Petrov witnesses a skirmish in a city bus, resulting in a very unexpected outcome. But thematically it is all very loose. The essence is often unclear and as a viewer you often do not know where you stand. And that is quite frustrating, especially when you consider that ‘Petrov’s Flu’ has a playing time of 145 minutes. Despite the originality, the film does run a little too long at one point. Of course you can only let a cold car mechanic trudge through a snowy city for a certain time. And when he is confronted with rarities every time, it all becomes very lavish.

‘Petrov’s Flu’ was nominated for various awards at various film festivals (including the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival). In Russia, on the other hand, the film caused quite a bit of controversy. Serebrennikov, who was detained for years in his home country for an alleged embezzlement case, here offers a highly critical view of the Russian Federation. With ‘Petrov’s Flu’ the director paints a corrupt, miserable and disorderly picture of his native country, without the slightest admiration. Naturally, the authorities did not thank him for this. This bold approach is well underlined. Unlike most contemporary films from Russia, ‘Petrov’s Flu’ takes real risks. This is a daring film, and that is certainly commendable. Let’s just hope that Serebrennikov’s next film will be a little more steadfast.