Rent The Wizard of the Kremlin (2025)
3.1 of 5 from 56 ratings
2h 13min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Russia, early 1990s. Amid post-Soviet chaos, a brilliant young man, Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano), charts his path. First an artist, then a reality TV producer, he becomes the spin doctor to a rising KGB agent: Vladimir Putin (Jude Law). At the heart of power, Baranov shapes the new Russia, blurring the boundaries between truth and lies, belief and manipulation. Only the magnetic Ksenia (Alicia Vikander) is beyond his control, tempting him away from this dangerous game. Years later, after retreating into silence and shrouded in mystery, Baranov finally opens up, revealing the dark secrets of the regime he helped build.
- Actors:
- Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, William Keen, Jeffrey Wright, Jude Law, Andrei Zayats, Kaspars Kambala, Andris Keiss, George Sogis, Magne-Håvard Brekke, Emmanuel Carrère, Elisa Lasowski, Marija Linarte, Dmitry Krupnikov, Dmitryi Turchaninov, Ints Indriksons, Egons Dombrovskis, Vadim Nikolaychuk, Kaspars Karklins
- Directors:
- Olivier Assayas
- Producers:
- Olivier Delbosc, Sidonie Dumas
- Writers:
- Giuliano Da Empoli, Olivier Assayas, Emmanuel Carrère
- Aka:
- Le mage du Kremlin
- Studio:
- Signature Entertainment
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 01/06/2026
- Run Time:
- 137 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.39:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Interview with Director
- Interview with Producer
- Interview with Jeffrey Wright
- Interview with Paul Dano
- Interview with Jude Law
- Interview with Alicia Vikander
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Reviews (1) of The Wizard of the Kremlin
The Man Behind the Curtain - The Wizard of the Kremlin review by griggs
Turns out power is mostly television. Olivier Assayas’ adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s novel follows Vadim Baranov — Paul Dano, doing his quiet-unravelling thing, and doing it well — a TV producer who slides into becoming Putin’s image architect, only to find the image has consequences.
The film is at its best when it shows propaganda being built: the stagecraft, the myth-making, the careful control of what the camera sees. Where it struggles is in assuming proximity to history counts as insight into it. Lots of men in rooms making enormous decisions; some of it grips, some of it is just very expensive furniture.
Jude Law’s Putin has the stillness and blank menace, but the film is too busy admiring the monster to question him — treating him as a dark icon rather than something history, money and media helped create. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. I admired the ideas more than I enjoyed the film: slick, intelligent, well-acted, and just bloodless enough. Everyone thinks they’re writing the script until they realise they’re only a character in someone else’s.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.