“The Wizard of the Kremlin,” a political thriller starring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin and Paul Dano as his former right-hand man and spin-doctor Vadim Baranov, earned a hugely enthusiastic 10-minute standing ovation at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
While the film belonged to Dano, who smiled appreciatively at the applause, it was the star power of Law that gave the audience cause for screams of “Bravo!” The actor — sporting a white tux jacket — beamed and clapped throughout the ovation, only pausing to embrace Olivier Assayas. The director did well to work the crowd, climbing over seats behind him to hug various members of the film team and walking down the steps to show his appreciation for the cheers. Meanwhile, Alicia Vikander, who plays Baranov’s romantic interest Ksenia, wiped away tears as the ovation continued.
Set in the early ’90s during the final years of the Soviet Union, “The Wizard of the Kremlin” follows the fictional character of reality TV producer Vadim Baranov, who unexpectedly becomes the spin doctor of Putin, a former KGB officer and promising up-and-comer in the Russian Federation. Tom Sturridge and Jeffrey Wright round out the cast.
Assayas (“Personal Shopper”) directed and co-wrote “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” adapted from Giuliano da Empoli’s 2022 novel of the same name. Though a fictional account, the story has heightened relevance amid Russia’s continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin has been in the news lately after meeting with President Donald Trump, who has been working to cobble together a peace deal between the two nations.
“Beyond the passions of men navigating the dangerous fluxes of modern politics, we see the powerful cinematic sweep of history in the making,” Assayas said when the film was announced. “It’s drama; it’s action; it’s about trying to make sense of the chaos that is transforming our world in the strangest, most disturbing ways.”
Assayas was last on the Lido with 2019’s “Wasp Network,” a spy drama starring Penélope Cruz, Edgar Ramírez, Ana de Armas and Gael García Bernal. Law attended the 2024 edition of Venice with crime thriller “The Order,” in which he portrayed an FBI agent investigating a white supremacist group in the ’80s.
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