Jude Law had no worries about portraying ruthless Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Olivier Assay’s political thriller, The Kremlin, which premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday.
“I hope I’m not naive, but I wasn’t afraid of the impact. In the hands of Olivier and the scriptwriter, this story was clever and confident that it would be told with nuance and consideration,” Law said at the film’s official press conference in Venice. “We didn’t seek controversy because of controversy. It’s a broader story character. We weren’t trying to define anything about anyone.”
The same name from Giuliano da Emporio’s bestselling book of 2022, “The Magic of the Kremlin” is a fictional account of Putin’s rise to power in the post-Soviet chaos and his relationship with Spin Dr. Badim Baranov (Paul Dano). The latter is not a real person, but he is inspired by Vladislav Saukov, a reality fixer who is believed to have played an important role in the formation of Putin’s persona and authoritarian leadership style. Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge and Jeffrey Wright all attended the press conference to close the cast.
The law changed his physical appearance, but he deliberately chose to use his own voice, rather than wearing thick Russian accents, to embody the younger Putin.
“Olivier and I discussed that this is not Putin’s interpretation. He didn’t want me to hide behind the mask of his prosthetics. We worked with the fantastic makeup and hair team to refer to that era in Putin’s life. “It’s amazing how great a wig can be done.”
Dano, on the other hand, was more interested in exploring the interior than the exterior of his character.
“I don’t think you need to look for positives, but you need to discover the character’s perspective. If you just label a character like Baranov, that would be a massive simplification of doing worse than good,” Dano said. “You need to ask, ‘Why?’
When asked if the assay was whether he believed Russia was dominated by the world, the director replied succinctly: “It’s a simple thing. The answer is no.”
Yes, the film imagines Putin’s origins, but the director detailed the director as imagining “The Wizard of the Kremlin” as a story of caution about “the transformation of politics in our lifetimes.”
“This film is very important about how modern politics was invented. It’s part of it that grew up (had been) from the rise of Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s power,” the assay said. “We made a film about how politics turned out and the scary and dangerous situations we all feel we are in. That’s true of many authoritarian leaders.”
The story has increased its relevance amid the continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin has been involved in the news recently after meeting with President Donald Trump, who has worked together on a peace deal between the two countries. Wright provided another reason why “The Witch of the Kremlin” should be “sayed in the mirror when it comes to America” rather than timely.
“The film is about a particular place, but it has global meaning to all of us. In contrast, there is a certain Russian history and a certain American history. Yes, there was an impulse in fascism and dictatorship, all sorts of sin. “If it’s lost as it is now, we’ll be what we’ll see in the film.”
