The new cinematic version of Mihail Bulgakov's masterpiece, The Master and Margarita (in ingles), Margareta in romanian, Master i Margarita in original Russian. The novel was a closet one, written between 1928 and 1940 when Bulgakov died, and kinda unfinished, published only in 1966-and that was censored-and in 1967 in Paris. It's considered one of the most importnat novels of the Xxth century, and it is. And more.
There were various try-outs, from an Italian film in 1972 to TV series to other Russian versions in 1994 and 2025. It was considered unfilmable and there was a project in the 90's that fell apart because of budgetary reasons, Roman Polanski (!) was supposed to direct it and he said he had the best script he read in all his life !! I wished he would've done that, even flawed it surely would've been an interesting take on Bulgakov and a subversive political anarchic one. I read the novel when I was in high school, in Ceausescu's Romania, and made a huge impression on me. Was day-dreaming to make a film with Jack Nicholson as Woland, Michelle Pfeiffer as Margarita and Max von Sydow as the Master. The cat Azaello was problematic :) that was 1986 or 87. That was befoe Bowie became Pilate but I would've chosen him, or someone like Orson Welles ;) It read like a very spectacular extrvaganza, with effects and epic filmmaking. And then I saw on video, in glorious black and white, The Witches of Eastwick. Jack was the Devil, alright. That was before Tim Burton's Batman, ok? About Witches, was hugely dissaponited when I read John Updike's novel, in the early Nineties. I stick with the movie and its grand guignol finale...
The cast is eccelctic with two foreign additions *that in the Russian version are horribly dubbed over by a Ruski male voice ;(
Deutsch August Diehl (Inglorious Basterds, A Hidden Life, Plan A), as Woland (reminded me of a cool young Chris Walken!)
Dane Claes Bang as Pontus Pilates (Bang was an exceptional Dracula in the series of 2020, streaming on netflix).
Yulia Sigir as Margareta, a spellbinding beautiful woman with the bluest eyes
Evghenyi Tsiganov as the Master
a cool Behemoth (voiced by Anora's Yura Borisev !)and a cooler Azazello /Azazel.
Co-written (with Roman Kantor) and Directed by Michael Lockshin (his second film after his debut, Silver Skates), a Russian-American director that now is persona non grata in Russia, under crime & punishment for defaming the country's BS. He even received death threats !
17 mill. $ that look like 100 !!! shot in Russia and Croatia with post production in the US.
1930's Moscow looks like Hitler's Berlin designed by Speer if the nazis would've won. This is Stalin's Megalopolis, a monumental grandeur, Big and massive, making people like pygmeys.
And then the Russian scandal started. And they took off Lockshin's name from the film and all promotional markets in Russian cinemas and from all materials, and he was banned from Russia sine die. The film tho made 26 mill. $ in the Russian Box office and people who could see it then loved it. International distribution is a problem still, just heard it was selling at AFI market now. Hopefully some streaming service will get it, eventually it will but I think they are afraid to upset Putin & co these tense moments.
Amazingly the film played at Bucharest International Film Festival this fall, with the director attending. Would've loved to see it on the big screen.
About the production and the censorship and the debacle:
BBC here
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240430-the-master-and-margarita-the-russian-box-office-hit-that-criticised-the-state
LA Times here including an interview with Lockshin.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-10/russia-michael-lockshin-putin-master-margarita
