Tchaikovsky's Wife

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me and my husband by mitski

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It’s hard to imagine that anyone could make another movie about 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky that’s as febrile and virtuosic as Ken Russell’s “The Music Lovers,” but dissident filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov — freshly released from his Putin-ordered house arrest, but still awaiting trial on ludicrous charges of fraud — has risen to the challenge with his usual aplomb, orchestrating a historical melodrama that’s almost as feverish as last year’s “Petrov’s Flu.”Then again, Serebrennikov’s film isn’t really about the mercurial gay man who wrote “Swan Lake.” As you might be able to deduce from its title, the morbidly opulent “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” is more interested in the obsessive music student who married him. Social conventions of the time are sufficient to explain how Antonina Miliukova remained oblivious to — or in semi-denial of — her husband’s unyielding sexual orientation (even after he set his bed on fire in order to get her out of it), but Serebrennikov is compelled by his heroine’s refusal to accept the intense, lifelong disdain that Tchaikovsky developed for her in the milliseconds after they married.RELATEDEvery Palme d'Or Winner From the Cannes Film Festival, RankedCannes 2022 Launches Amid Controversy, War, and OptimismWas she mad with infatuation over her favorite musician, or did the spiritual Antonina (portrayed in “The Music Lovers” by a nymphomaniac Glenda Jackson) simply reject the idea that Tchaikovsky’s “genius” should allow him to ignore the eternal commitment they made to one another under the eyes of God? Serebrennikov imagines that both might be true at the same time, while the mesmeric Alyona Mikhaylova — embodying her role with the martyr-like intensity of Lars von Trier’s Golden Hearts — allows those two diagnoses to agitate each other into something more complicated.The result is a movie that constantly dances along the knife’s edge between “hysteria” (in the most outmoded, misogynistic definition of the word) and defiance. Nowhere is that balance more obvious or more thrilling than in the opening sequence, captured in a dream-like long take that dazzles even in comparison to the director’s usual Mikhail Kalatozov-inspired approach to camerawork.~this review continues on IndieWire~

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RESEÑA EN ESPAÑOL AQUI To what extremes would you go for the love of your life? How much pain and sacrifice would you endure? And at what point does love cross the line into obsession? These are the questions the film poses, though the answers are far from simple. Antonina emerges as a deeply tragic figure, evoking sympathy as her passionate devotion spirals into madness. The emotional intensity escalates brutally as those close to the famed musician take drastic measures to sever this relationship, employing manipulation and presenting her with numerous alternatives. Mikhaylova delivers a remarkable performance, rich with nuance, capturing the full spectrum of Antonina’s turmoil—from moments of joy to the depths of anguish and madness as her world unravels. From a technical standpoint, the film is visually stunning. The music complements the narrative really well, serving as a powerful expression of Nina’s psychological state. The film unfolds at a deliberately slow pace, which, combined with my early morning viewing, made it somewhat challenging to fully engage with. All in all, anchored by great performances and a solid script, the pacing was a slight drawback for me. However, if you appreciate period dramas centered on doomed relationships, this film is certainly worth exploring. TODAY SCHEDULEI Bet You're Wondering How I Got HereTchaikovsky's Wife Gran Casino