The Venice Film Festival is known for premiering ambitious auteur cinema and heavyweight awards contenders, but this year’s lineup also includes a lighter, faster-paced entry that brings a distinctly Russian flavor to the Lido. The crime comedy Moolah, directed by Konstantin Buslov, is set to screen its exclusive first clips in Venice, offering a glimpse into a chaotic, cash-driven romp through present-day Moscow. The film, which clocks in at a brisk 88 minutes, tells a deceptively simple story: a businessman with dubious connections loses a bag containing a million euros, and the ensuing scramble for the money spirals into a series of wild encounters.
The film’s premise is rooted in a moment of fiscal absurdity. In 1991, the film’s synopsis notes, Russia discovered big money. By 2011, money has become everything. The narrative kicks off when a wealthy entrepreneur named Grigory, played by Kirill Safonov, fails to declare his taxes. That single act of financial negligence sets off a chain reaction when a bag full of cash is stolen from his car. What follows is a rapid-fire relay of ownership, as the "moolah" passes from one eager hand to the next, each new holder convinced they’ve stumbled onto a life-changing windfall. The official logline frames the chaos as a simple question of greed: the bag goes from one happy owner to the next, and it all began with one man’s refusal to fill out a tax form.
Buslov, who directs from a script that leans into the comedic absurdity of post-Soviet capitalism, has assembled a sizable ensemble cast to chase the money trail. Roman Madyanov leads the pack as Vasily Kolyvanov, a police colonel whose investigation into the theft quickly becomes as tangled as the criminals he is supposedly pursuing. The cast also includes Yakiv Kucherevskyi as Oleg, Maria Bersenyova as a sex worker named Yana, and a trio of Georgian actors - Gia Gogishvili, Giorgi Gurgulia, and Misha Meskhi - who bring a particular energy to the proceedings as characters named Vazha, Goga, and Kaha. Vladimir Sychev rounds out the core group as Syoma, a figure who gets swept up in the whirlwind of fast money and faster decisions.
A Satirical Look at Sudden Wealth
The film’s tone appears to be one of sharp, often dark comedy, using the stolen euros as a MacGuffin to explore what happens when ordinary people get a taste of instant wealth. The clips being shown in Venice are expected to highlight the film's kinetic style, bouncing between the various characters as they each try to hold onto the money just long enough to spend it. There is a clear satirical edge to the premise, poking fun at the get-rich-quick mentality that defined much of the post-Soviet era, where loyalty is thin and everyone has a scheme. The stolen cash becomes a corrupting force, and Buslov seems interested in how quickly moral codes dissolve when a million euros is sitting in a duffel bag.
The film’s setting in Moscow is not just a backdrop but an active participant in the story. The city, as depicted in the trailer and clips, is a place of new money, old grudges, and constant motion. The characters represent a cross-section of this new urban landscape: a businessman trying to hide his wealth, a police officer trying to keep order, and a cast of low-level hustlers and opportunists who see the stolen bag as their ticket out of obscurity. This is not a high-tech heist film; it is a grounded, messy look at the scramble for survival and status, played for laughs but with a knowing wink at the real-world consequences of unchecked greed.
A Fast-Paced Festival Detour
With a runtime of just over 80 minutes, Moolah is designed to be a lean, sharp experience. The pacing appears relentless, with the narrative shifting focus as quickly as the money changes hands. The film’s release date is set for October 13, 2011, meaning the Venice screening serves as an international launchpad for a title that has already found an audience at home. While the filmmaker’s approach is firmly grounded in a specific cultural and historical context, the universal theme of money’s corrupting influence should translate easily across borders. The film is a Russian-language production, and its humor feels rooted in the specific social dynamics of its setting, yet the core situation - a bag of cash causing chaos - is instantly recognizable anywhere.
The critical reception so far has been tempered; the film holds a modest TMDb rating of 5.259/10, suggesting that audiences have found it to be a mixed bag, perhaps valuing its energy over its polish. Still, for festival-goers looking for a break from heavy drama, Moolah offers a dose of irreverent entertainment. The exclusive clips are expected to showcase the film’s comedic timing and Buslov’s ability to juggle a large ensemble without losing the through-line of the runaway money. As the film gears up for its October release, the Venice buzz could be just the boost it needs to find a wider audience beyond its home turf. For now, the film stands as a curious, fast-moving artifact of a moment when, as the synopsis puts it, money was everything - and everyone wanted a piece of it.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
