The Master and Margarita

This adaptation of Bulgakov's novel puts the author's own situation at the centre instead of transcribing the book: a man whose play is banned, whose name is dragged through the press, and who can only take revenge by writing. When Woland and his retinue arrive in Moscow, the film moves between the novel in the writer's head and the life he is actually living. The production ended up mirroring its subject to an unnerving degree. It opened in Russia in early 2024 and was a substantial hit, selling more than six million tickets, while state media went after it: Duma deputies and pro war commentators demanded a ban and called for criminal charges against the director, Michael Lockshin, who had stated his opposition to the war plainly. A film of a novel about authority crushing artists was met with exactly the response that proves the novel right. Its flaw is compression. The book has many layers and the Jerusalem thread is cut down hard, so some transitions feel abrupt if you do not know the source. Who it is for: readers of Bulgakov and lovers of political allegory. Who it is not for: anyone demanding literal fidelity.