New US Trailer for Hallucinatory, Deadpan Russian Film ‘Petrov’s Flu’
by Alex Billington
August 5, 2022
Source: YouTube
“Is it okay that we kidnapped a corpse?” Strand Releasing has unveiled an official US trailer for the Russian dark drama Petrov’s Flu, described as a “deadpan, hallucinatory romp through post-Soviet Russia.” This originally premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival last year, and has been on hold for release due to the war in Ukraine. But Cannes brought back Serebrennikov this year to show his next new film (Tchaikovsky’s Wife) so that sort of cleared his name (despite his connection to oligarchs) and now they’re going to release Petrov’s Flu finally starting in the end of September at a few select art house cinemas. The film follows a day in the life of a comic book artist and his family in post-Soviet Russia. While suffering from the flu, Petrov is carried by his friend Igor on a long walk, drifting in and out of fantasy and reality. Very trippy. This stars Semyon Serzin, Chulpan Khamatova, and Vladislav Semiletkov. The film earned mixed-to-positive reviews at Cannes last year and if you’re curious to see what the strange chaos is about – then dive right in.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ two posters) Kirill Serebrennikov’s Petrov’s Flu, direct from YouTube:
Petrov’s Flu, directed by acclaimed Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov, is a deadpan, hallucinatory romp through post-Soviet Russia. With the city in the throes of a flu epidemic, the Petrov family struggles through yet another day in a country where the past is never past, the present is a booze-fueled, icy fever dream of violence and tenderness, and where, beneath the layers of the ordinary, things turn out to be quite extraordinary. Part science fiction, mystery and dark comedy, this Cannes Film Festival entry is a unique hybrid of genres. Petrov’s Flu, also known as Петровы в гриппе in Russian, is written & directed by the acclaimed Russian director / filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov, director of the films Razdetyye, Ragin, Bed Stories, Playing the Victim, Yuri’s Day, Betrayal, The Student, and Leto previously. It’s adapted from Alexey Salniko’s novel “The Petrovs In and Around the Flu”. This initially premeired at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival playing in the Main Competition section. Strand Releasing will debut Petrov’s Flu in select US theaters (in NY only) starting September 23rd, 2022 coming soon. For more info, visit their official site.
