Overview
A tale of love and madness unfolds in the shadowy streets of 1930s Moscow, where a writer's despair leads to a surreal confrontation with fate.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- witty
- grotesque
- eerie
- literary adaptation night
- arthouse fantasy viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a visually opulent, daring, and politically resonant adaptation that successfully makes Bulgakov's notoriously difficult novel cinematic.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film directly adapts Bulgakov's sprawling novel through interwoven Moscow and biblical-story material, combining satire, romance, and fantasy.
The writer's banned novel, canceled play, and social ostracism create an explicit critique of censorship and state repression.
Woland's supernatural entourage, theatrical set pieces, and 1930s Moscow imagery turn censorship and corruption into extravagant spectacle.
The Master and Margarita's love is blocked by her marriage and social persecution, leading the writer to hope Woland can reunite them.
Films like The Master and Margarita, and why
Brazil
literary fantasy, political allegory, and visually extravagant satire confronting authoritarian power
The City of Lost Children
censorship, theatrical fantasy, and a writer whose imagination challenges oppressive institutions
The Fall of the House of Usher
surreal historical drama blending dark comedy, religious mythology, and resistance to state power
The Green Knight
ambitious literary adaptation combining romance, supernatural intervention, and critique of authoritarian society
Movie Details
- Director
- Michael Lockshin
- Release Date
- 2024-01-25
- Runtime
- 157 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (170)
Cast
- August Diehl
- Yuliya Snigir
- Evgeny Tsyganov
- Claes Bang
- Yuri Kolokolnikov
- Aleksey Guskov
- Aleksey Rozin
- Aleksandr Yatsenko
- Yevgeni Knyazev
- Danil Steklov
Common questions
- What is The Master and Margarita about?
- A persecuted Soviet writer finds forbidden love and fantastical revenge through the devilish stranger he has invented.
- What is The Master and Margarita like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Master and Margarita as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is The Master and Margarita violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Master and Margarita as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Master and Margarita?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a visually opulent, daring, and politically resonant adaptation that successfully makes Bulgakov's notoriously difficult novel cinematic.
- Which films are like The Master and Margarita?
- Films with a similar feel include Brazil, The City of Lost Children, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Green Knight.
- How long is The Master and Margarita?
- The Master and Margarita runs 157 minutes.
