Limonov: The Ballad

Limonov: The Ballad (2024) — watch online on iFILM. A biographical drama by Kirill Serebrennikov, adapted from Emmanuel Carrère's novel. Ben Whishaw plays Eduard Limonov — Soviet street poet, New York flophouse writer, Manhattan millionaire's butler, Balkan volunteer, Russian political prisoner. A co-production of Spain, France and Italy, running 133 minutes.

The film doesn't try to explain Limonov — it drops you into successive chapters of his chaotic life. 1970s Moscow, then New York dishwashing by day and writing through the night. Paris. The Balkan front. Prison. Serebrennikov cuts between lives without softening any of them. Victoria Miroshnichenko, Yevgeny Mironov and Maria Mashkova appear alongside Whishaw.

Serebrennikov shot this from exile — which gives the film extra weight. It's about a man who never belonged anywhere, made by a director who also lost access to his own country. Stream Limonov: The Ballad (2024) on iFILM.