Kirill Serebrennikov, director of Leto (2018) and Petrov’s Flu (2021), adapts Emmanuel Carrère’s biographical novel to portray Eduard Limonov, the Russian writer born in 1943 who caused a stir in Russian literature and politics. The film vividly follows Limonov’s turbulent life: from his impoverished existence in Russia during the late 1960s, to his time in New York during the 1970s, to his emergence as a famous writer in Paris in the 1980s, and finally, his return to Moscow where he formed an extremist political party. Serebrennikov recreates New York streets and Siberian prisons in the studio and delves into the writer’s chaotic inner world, evoking the style of Federico Fellini. Through the character of Limonov, brilliantly portrayed by Ben Whishaw, the director reflects on the painful history of Russia, spanning from the communist dictatorship to Putin’s nationalism. (SEO Seunghee)