The film “The Master and Margarita”, a hymn to freedom, is a hit in Moscow
The film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's iconic book
The Master and Margarita
, one of Russia's favorite classics played and replayed in the theater, is a huge box office success in Russia. But this time, this success on the big screen is the victim of a controversy created and maintained by figures close to power.
The Master and Margarita, a film by Mikhail Lokshin. © Copyright Mars Media Entertainment.
By: Anissa El Jabri Follow
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From our correspondent in Moscow
,
Despite the muscular recovery of the cultural sector since the war, directors of theaters or museums dismissed or exiled, blacklists of musicians and singers, a film has slipped through the cracks. This is a rereading of this immense classic adored in
Russia
,
The Master and Margarita
. This film is one of the most expensive in the history of Russian cinema. It was partly financed before the war by funds from the Ministry of Culture.
What poses a problem for ultra-legitimists is the personality of the director: Mikhail Lokshin now lives in the United States and, as the
Kommersant
newspaper very politely writes , “
he is suspected of sympathizing with Ukraine
.” In any case, just after the premiere of the film in Russia, screenshots appeared on social networks of what was presented as coming from the director's Facebook page, texts condemning the war and affirming financial support for Ukrainian directors.
The public came in large numbers to the cinema
Neither that nor the controversy fueled by propagandists on television or on social networks dissuaded those who wanted to see the film in the cinema. The film is described as “
Satanist
”, “
anti-Soviet
”, “
anti-Russian
”. Some even go so far as to argue that we should return to good old prior censorship before any broadcast. In any case, despite or perhaps also thanks to this campaign, the film is a hit.
Released 10 days ago, it had more than 400,000 admissions this weekend. The film in second place barely exceeds 100,000 admissions. And there is still quite a bit of room to rake in already record revenues: in Moscow, this weekend, you had to book several days in advance to be able to buy a ticket.
The Master and Marguerite,
an ode to resistance
The
Kommersant
newspaper speaks of a “modern and progressive” version of the cult work. An independent media outlet, exiled and classified as a “foreign agent”, sees it as a clear criticism of an authoritarian power: “
What is this story really about?”,
writes the journalist “
From a successful author who writes a play which is then banned, by an author excluded from the writers' union and deprived of his income. He is on trial for the exact same thing his character is sentenced to death for in the book: for the phrase "all power is violence against ordinary people
."
And the film critic adds “
It’s too dangerous a thought; it is not recommended to say it out loud, neither under Stalin nor today
.” Banned for decades, Bulgakov's book, a hymn to freedom, only appeared in an uncensored version in the USSR in 1973.
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