54. Petrov's Flu (Petrovy v grippe); movie review

 

 

PETROV'S FLU

Cert 18

146 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence

I am a story teller. When I was trained as a journalist, I was told that every wasted word cost four pence in newsprint. That was in 1984.

On the flip side, I was never an artist. Every year I was near bottom of the school class in the subject and later, when I was a newspaper editor, I confess I relied on others for eye-catching design.

I lay out this background to explain why I find movies such as Petrov's Flu difficult.

Kirill Serebrennikov's film has been acclaimed by those who enjoy art which requires no explanation. They see beyond my boundaries.

Thus, they will argue that a movie does need to have a narrative or even make sense as long as it looks interesting.

And they may well lap up this adaptation of Alexey Salnikov's The Petrovs In and Around The Flu.

The tone is set when the sneezing title character (Semyon Serzin) is seen as a passenger on a most bizarre bus ride which includes him being hauled off to be a member of a firing squad.

He then carries on as if nothing has happened.

Later, we encounter his librarian wife (Chulpan Khamatova) whose late evening with a group of poets becomes surprisingly violent.

The two have previously split but they have a shared concern for their son (Vladislav Semiletkov) who is suffering from a high fever yet is insistent that he wants to go to his school's New Year's fancy-dress party.

But even this tense situation descends into farce and mind-boggling dream sequences which involve aliens.

Oh, yes, sex, spaceships, random acts of insanity and a pair of singing dentures are all part of the wacky mix.

What does it all mean? I am not even sure the director would know.

The suggestion is that Petrov's Flu is 'very Russian' in a positive way - in which case, I think I need to book a holiday over there.

If this is anything to go by, it would be like none that I have ever experienced.

Reasons to watch: A film like no other

Reasons to avoid: Very difficult to follow

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 4/10

Did you know? Petrov's Flu was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Vulcan Award for cinematography.

The final word.  Kirill Serebrennikov: "I was under arrest while writing the script. After I was released, we started to prepare and shoot the film. I shot somewhat covertly, and mainly at nighttime." Film Comment

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