Film Review: MINOTAUR: An Example of a Smart Film Marked with Disturbing Intensity [NYFF 2026]

Minotaur Review

Minotaur (2026) Film Review from the 64th Annual New York Film Festival, a movie directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, written by Simon Lyashenko, Andrey Zvyagintsev and Claude Chabrol and starring Dmitriy Mazurov, Iris Lebedeva, Boris Kudrin, Varvara Shmykova, Vladimir Friedman, Anatoliy Beliy, Artur Smolyaninov, Anton Lytvynov, Anastasia Mischenko, Rudgy Pajany and Mikhail Safronov.

Renowned Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev sheds light on some very thought-provoking and highly provocative themes in the hard-hitting new drama, Minotaur. At once a political commentary and a thriller, it is one of the year’s most well-crafted cinematic achievements. It’s a haunting character study of a man pushed beyond his breaking point, who has to do whatever he can to try to stay afloat in an ever-changing world.

This film stars Dmitriy Mazurov and Iris Lebedeva as a married couple, Gleb and Galina. They have a young son named Seryozha (Boris Kudrin), who has problems at school with bullying. It’s your typical every-day family on the surface except that Gleb is a high-powered businessman who is being challenged immensely by the conflict with Ukraine at work. Gleb is considering hiring people for a very specific purpose in order to avoid losing some of his key employees to the draft. Problems are constantly mounting for Gleb and Galina has some of her own dissatisfactions in her life.

When a mysterious photographer named Anton (Yuriy Zavalnyouk) enters into the equation, Galina may be tempted to reclaim some much needed passion in her life, but at what emotional cost? Galina may enter a torrid affair with the photographer as the plot moves forward, and Gleb is not the type to not notice the small details. Gleb is very detail oriented and pays careful attention to the logistics of whatever it is that he does at any given moment. 

This film offers a scenario that is similar to the Richard Gere/Diane Lane film from the early 2000’s, Unfaithful, but Minotaur is more grounded in a non-conventional way. There’s the explosive political backstory to Gleb’s situation complemented by the sexy wife, Galina’s own frustrations. Eventually, Anton is wrapped in a large rug, believed to have been killed. When he starts moaning from inside the carpet, the situation is further complicated because Gleb is making “on the cusp” decisions that could alter his and his wife’s futures forever.

As the plot thickens, police detectives come to the scene of Gleb and Galina’s beautiful home, wondering why Galina and Anton exchanged nine phone calls together. Gleb may not be a fool, but will his actions catch up to him and what will soon become of his marriage? This film offers no easy solutions to the dilemmas it raises and ups the stakes with each passing sequence of the film.

Dmitriy Mazurov, as Gleb, is spellbinding. He has a hard stare in his eyes at times that drives his decisions as he goes through turmoil that he is facing in both his professional and personal lives. Iris Lebedeva is incredibly sexy as Galina, offering an image of beauty that any man would find hard to resist. We feel for Galina and see why she yearns for the companionship of Anton, who seems young and intelligent. However, she has an established bond with the smart Gleb, who is certainly nobody’s fool when it comes to family matters.

In support, Zavalnyouk and Kudrin give their respective characters a distinct edge that makes them much more substantial than they could have been in a run of the mill thriller. Minotaur is anything but your basic thriller although it has thematic elements lifted straight from the screen of Alfred Hitchcock classics or, yes, even Unfaithful.

Minotaur has a very interesting conclusion and without giving anything away, it’s a hard one to swallow, yet is supremely plausible at the same time. This film sets itself in a time and place where the difference between right and wrong is a bit hazy, given the political climate of the nation. Should Gleb pay for his actions? Should Galina pay for hers? Should there be some room for others to look away in another direction? In this film, anything is possible.

There are images of clouds that conclude the picture as characters find themselves on a plane. What do these clouds symbolize? A very rocky marriage? Perhaps, some unexpected turbulence up ahead in different scenarios? This film opens up the window for many different types of conversations, and that is what great films typically tend to do. 

Minotaur is profoundly executed, and tightly edited. There may be a minor flaw or two in the way the body of Anton gets disposed of because there are a couple of (irrelevant) plot holes, if you look too closely. Still, the movie is effective beyond a reasonable doubt and moves at a quick pace, running about two hours and fifteen minutes with the audience most likely feeling as if the time goes by much faster than that running time implies.

Minotaur will make one appreciate their own family construct, and question what should be done in order to protect the stability of the family unit if it was, indeed, threatened by an outsider. That same type of concept could be applied to the business aspects of Gleb’s life as well, and the perception of it by the audience. Does Gleb go too far? This is a very well made picture that leaves just as many questions with the viewer as it provides answers to them. It’s a must-see.

Rating: 8.5/10

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