Tchaikovsky's wife

This was advertised at my local cinema as a Comedy Drama. Well, there's no comedy in it.

In 1877, Tchaikovsky married Antonia Miliukova. Six weeks later they separated, although they remained legally married until the composer's death. This is the story of that marriage and its aftermath, told from Miliukova's point of view. It's clear from the outset that she's an unreliable narrator of her own life, and we can never be sure how much of what we see is real, and how much is happening in her head. This is made clear in one early scene (probably the best scene in the film) which does at least pack a surprise.

The rest of Miliukova's descent into madness is shown in a way that is intended to shock, rather than surprise. There's a lot of frankly gratuitous nudity depicted in a manner which is (presumably deliberately) as subtle as a brick and as tasteful as a colonoscopy.

The performances of the two leads are good, the cinematography is excellent, the set designs are interesting and the level of surreality is dialled up to the max.

The problem for me was that Miliukova was not in any way portrayed as a sympathetic character, and it's not very easy to warm to Tchaikovsky either. The only really likeable characters are the roguish Bochechkarov, and a gossipy woman whose name I missed, who get all too little screen time.

The sound-track is atmospheric, but features none of Tchaikovsky's music, which was a disappointment.

An interesting film, but not really an entertaining one.

Ugh ... disappointment of the last few years ... despite some very beautiful cinematographic ideas ... the script is despicable : this movie is a disguised propaganda against homosexuality ... I nearly threw up towards the ending ... I'm still so upset ... They highjacked Tchaikovsky's tragic marriage story and packaged it up as a costume drama ... but clearly to make a picture of the composer and other homosexual men as mean opportunistic vilains ... you don't learn anything about him nor her nor about the historical circumstances etc. .... There's no music either ... It's a pitiful recount how a woman desperately tries to have sex with a man who is clearly not into it AND who told her so from the very beginning: marriage yes but only as a brother!

In the movie they even make allusions that it's not normal if a man doesn't want to shag a woman if he sees her naked .... how on earth did this get selected in Cannes is beyond my comprehension...

The movie is of very good quality and highly satisfying to watch.

It offers a deep study of the female character and her life, portraying her with a great deal of sympathy. But it also carries a disappointing tone of being an homosexual and its place in society. Being gay is almost depicted as something that prevents one from experiencing the true beauty of a woman. Is this the director's issue as well? He presents Antonina in such a beautifully crafted way-so fragile, yet so broken and sad-because she becomes part of a hostile environment. So much attention goes to her and so emotionally charged scenes depicted that only a deeply feeling person can truly process and bring to the screen. Yet the story is about a waste of all of that beauty filled with sadness and dissatisfaction.

Tchaikovsky used her to protect himself from accusations, and she used him to stay close to his talent, as she admitted it was difficult to be a female musician. There was something deeply sad about the fact that he couldn't satisfy her physical desires and suffered because of it. At the same time, she was too young, naive, and obsessed to accept a life without him.

A personal note: I didn't like seeing modern musicians in the movie. It made it feel less like a true work of art and more like a casual gathering, which ruined the atmosphere.

It's a story about a woman threatening Tchaikovsky to be her husband, or she would kill herself, and wandering all around hysterically to try to find out where Tchaikovsky was after his escape of their marriage. Because Tchaikovsky was a gay, he would of course not fall in love with a woman, not to even mention marry one! God damn it! The whole process took 2.5 hours, and the movie just seems like it couldn't get a point, like a fly hovering from the east to the west, and the opposite direction again, again and again with no destination. It's just too ridiculous. Even the worst soap opera in my country would never feature something like this. I really feel like I'm fooled around. I think that rating 2 stars is just too enough. I can't rate even higher.

This movie left me sitting in cinema chair few minutes after it finished.

Photography, camera, scenes, details, symbolism - everything!

A story of a woman, who adored her men, but never was loved back. Her inner struggle and suffering, living with it, and destroying herself - all for love!

A touch of feminism, but not radical one, in normal proportions as it used to be in 19. Century.

This director is a genius! Please give it a try!

Movie is 2h 30min, but flies quicky as keeps your attention Really, a must see, at least once!

Story of women's love on the border with insanity!

STRONG RECOMENDATION! :)