Mathieu, a member of the French institute in Irkutsk, is arrested overnight by the Russian authorities. Imprisoned and accused of sexual abuse on his own daughter, he realises he is a victim of a Kompromat. With the help of the FSB, someone has built up a case to frame him. Isolated, he has no one to turn to. Proving his innocence is impossible: the only solution is to escape.
Acting
Gilles Lellouche's gradual unraveling is physically exhausting to watch
Direction
Salle makes Siberian bureaucracy feel like psychological horror
Production
Irkutsk locations radiate authentic post-Soviet dread
Director
Jérôme Salle
Gilles Lellouche
Mathieu Roussel
Joanna Kulig
Svetlana
Mikhail Gorevoy
Rostov
Sasha Piltsin
Sergey
Mikhail Safronov
Ivanovich
Oleksiy Horbunov
Borodin
Igor Jijikine
Sagarine
Elisa Lasowski
Alica
Daniil Vorobyov
Sacha
Judith Henry
Michèle
Pierre Hancisse
Julien
Marius Repšys
Shakir
Marius Čižauskas
Stanislas
Tanel Jonas
Vladimir
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on real 2013 diplomatic tensions when France criticized Russia's anti-gay law; several European officials faced similar setups.
Gilles Lellouche learned basic Russian for months but most FSB scenes use actual Russian actors speaking rapid-fire authentic dialogue he couldn't follow.
FR
