Tchaikovsky's Wife

Tchaikovsky's Wife (Жена Чайковского, 2022) is a historical drama by Kirill Serebrennikov you can watch online on iFILM. The composer is not the real subject here. The film belongs to Antonina Milyukova, a young woman from a good family who fell for Pyotr Ilyich through his music before she ever knew the man.

She pushes for the marriage, and he agrees, partly to quiet the rumours that trail him. What follows is a slow-motion collapse. Tchaikovsky cannot stand his wife, blames her for his breakdowns, and tries every cruel way to be rid of her. Antonina refuses to let go. Humiliated, divorced, written off by society, she clings to a feeling that is already unstitching her mind. The story stays locked to her point of view, offering neither pity nor excuse.

Alyona Mikhailova and Odin Lund Biron play the leads, with Philipp Avdeev and the rapper Miron Fyodorov (Oxxxymiron) in support. The film competed in the main lineup at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Serebrennikov films the 19th century as something dense and airless, all long takes and not a single pretty postcard. It is heavy going, no background watch; for anyone who loves uncompromising auteur cinema, it lingers. Stream Tchaikovsky's Wife (2022) online on iFILM.