The Master and Margarita (2024 film)

The Master and Margarita (Russian: Мастер и Маргарита, romanized: Master i Margarita) is a Russian fantasy-drama film directed by Michael Lockshin and based on Mikhail Bulgakov's novel of the same name. It stars August Diehl as Woland, a diabolical foreigner who visits Moscow, Yevgeny Tsyganov as the eponymous Master, Yuliya Snigir as Margarita, the Master's mistress and Claes Bang as Pontius Pilate.
The film was shot in 2021, but its release was pushed multiple times because of Russia's invasion into Ukraine and only premiered January 25, 2024. The movie received mostly positive reviews from both film critics and audiences and quickly became the highest-grossing film released with a 18+ content rating ever in Russia and #7 all time box office, with over 2.3 billion rubles (over 27 million dollars), despite the attacks of Russia's state news and officials against the movie.
In 1930s Moscow, a prominent writer's works are suddenly censored by the Soviet state and the premiere of his theatrical play about Pontius Pilate is canceled for ideological reasons. He is expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers, and quickly turns into an outcast with no means to survive.
Inspired by Margarita, his mistress, he begins working on a new novel in which all the characters are satirically reinterpreted from his life. The novel's central character is Woland, a mystical dark force who visits Soviet Moscow as a tourist, and avenges all those who caused the writer's downfall.
As the writer sinks himself deeper and deeper into his novel, adding himself and Margarita as characters, he gradually stops noticing as the border between reality and his imagination fades away.
In 2018, the film was announced as being in production, with two major Russian producers helming the project: Ruben Dishdishyan and Igor Tolstunov. Nikolai Lebedev was set to direct. By 2020, however, the project still had not taken off. At some point, Lebedev had left the project.
Instead, Michael Lockshin, director of The Silver Skates, co-wrote a new script with Roman Kantor in 2020 and directed the film in 2021. The new script intertwined the novel with Bulgakov's life. The film had a working title Woland. The producers were Ruben Dishdishyan, Igor Tolstunov and Leonard Blavatnik. 40% of the funding was provided by the Cinema Foundation of Russia.
In July 2021 it was announced that August Diehl will be playing Woland.
Filming began in July 2021 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Malta, and concluded in October 2021.
Mars Media announced that the film would be released on January 1, 2023, with Universal Pictures acting as distributor.
In August 2022, it was announced that the release date would be pushed to late 2023, due to Universal Pictures leaving Russia over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and problems with funding the film's post-production. In July 2023, it was announced that the film would be pushed once again to 25 January 2024.
In April 2023 it was announced that the title of the film would change from Woland to The Master and Margarita.
The characters in the film speak in Russian, German, Latin and Aramaic.
The film was released to positive reviews from Russian press. Anton Dolin, one of Russia's most influential film critics called it "the first good adaptation" of Bulgakov's novel and the "best commercial movie in modern Russian history". Other prominent film critics like Andrei Plakhov, as well as Bulgakov academics and cultural figures like Dmitry Bykov and Ekaterina Shulman also praised the film. The Los Angeles Times reviewer called the film "... the first worthy film adaptation of Bulgakov's novel [with] scaldingly relevant parallels to Putin's Russia."
Many viewers noted the timeliness of the film, as the period piece about the 1930s - resonated with news about the rise of censorship and repressions in contemporary Russia. The Guardian noting that "As Russia becomes more repressive, it is possible that Master and Margarita could be one of the last films of its kind, a blockbuster where the criticism of the state lies on the service."
The performances were praised by many reviewers including the likes offrom Komsomolskaya Pravda and RBK.
On release day, the film opened to 57.3 million rubles. By its second weekend, the film had made 1 billion rubles, according to the Cinema Foundation of Russia. By March, the movie became the highest-grossing movie released with a 18+ content rating ever in Russia, with over 2.3 billion rubles in the box office.
The movie was targeted by nationalist activists and some of the most famous pro-Putin public figures and propagandists, including Zakhar Prilepin, Tigran Keosayan and Vladimir Solovyev, who complained about the director's anti-war views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the themes of the film allegedly being anti-regime, and the fact that the Ministry of Culture had provided funding for the film in 2020, and demanded a criminal investigation into the film and into Lockshin himself. The debates reached Russia's parliament - The State Duma with some deputies calling for a ban of the film and for it to be pulled from movie theaters. However, according to the director, when the propagandists started their attack after seeing the film, the movie had already gained notoriety and success after its first week at the box office, and was based on a beloved classic book, so the authorities ultimately decided to not intervene to stop distribution.
The film received a record 14 nominations and six wins at the annual Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards, including Best Film. It also received 7 Nika Awards, including Best Picture. At the Nika Awards ceremony those receiving the prizes were not allowed to thank the director or mention his name.