An “obsessive” study of Putin
British actor Jude Law confessed that he became an “obsessive” viewer of Vladimir Putin when preparing to play the Russian president in The Wizard of the Kremlin, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday.
The 52-year-old actor captures Putin’s tough screen presence, from his scowl to his characteristic swagger, in Olivier Assayas’s political thriller. “There’s a lot of footage one could watch, and when I start going down that rabbit hole, it becomes sort of obsessive,” Law said to journalists.
It wasn’t easy playing Putin, he continued, considering the leader’s notoriously mask-like face. “The difficult side was that the public persona we see is very, very minimal. There’s this mask.” He thanked “an incredible make-up and hair team” for helping him change and said he never felt a fear of backlash.
A political trajectory on screen
The two-and-a-half-hour movie follows Putin’s trajectory from intelligence agent to a man who centralized authority, silenced opponents, and constructed an elite inner circle. It’s told through the eyes of invented political adviser Vadim Baranov, played by Paul Dano.
Drawing on Giuliano da Empoli’s hit novel, the movie is posed as a journey through authoritarianism, tracing the trajectory of Russia’s conversion from post-Soviet democracy to centralized autocracy. “We made a film about what politics have become and the very frightening and perilous predicament we all think we are in,” director Assayas remarked.
Initial reactions were mixed. The Hollywood Reporter complimented Law and Dano’s performances but indicated the story got “bogged down in too many characters.” Screen International, though, praised the “dense screenplay” and “fast-moving, sleek direction.”
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Venice buzzing with politics and premieres
The Kremlin Wizard is one of 21 nominees for the festival’s best award. Politics has been a subtext in Venice this year, as demonstrators have marched against Israel’s Gaza siege and films highlighted international conflicts.
Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother, also premiering Sunday, was described by the director as “a kind of anti-action film,” starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, and Tom Waits. Jarmusch also voiced dismay over distributor Mubi’s ties to investors linked with Israel’s military.
Future highlights include The Voice of Hind Rajab, a documentary on the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, supported by Hollywood moguls Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jonathan Glazer.
With big-name performances, political messages, and a diverse schedule, this year’s Venice Film Festival continues to fuel international debate on and off screen.
