Poutine

The clever non-linear timeline of fresh, original political biopic "Putin" flashes back in bite-sized chunks over key chapters in the life of the titular Russian President (professional lookalike Slawomir Sabala) - including his childhood, the Soviet Union's collapse when he was a KGB operative in Germany, his ruthless (and murderous) political rise to the office of President Yeltsin (Tomasz Dedek) that he then took, and his tightening grip on Russia via false-flag terrorist attacks on his own people, etc... culminating in the war on Ukraine. Polish writer / director Patryk Vega uses plenty of artistic license to highlight Putin's evil - but it works. An engaging & enlightening film.

Most Westerners don't know much about Russia or Putin, and if you watch this hit piece, you'll know even less.

It's a complete work of fiction, with a few unimportant "facts" that are then dressed up with crazy fantasies to paint a portrait that is almost humorously evil.

Unfortunately, many people see these kind of movies and believe they are a biography, a historical record, and not just a vanity project from a person with an ax to grind. I noticed one reviewer actually referred to this as a "documentary".

If you are interested in history and geopolitics on a serious level, you will not be able to sit through this movie. It's that stupid. If you are satisfied to just read headlines of articles or whatever news you get through osmosis from the propaganda floating around, you may enjoy it.

I'd give it no stars, but I have to give it one.

I watched this whole movie in an Imax from start to finish. This is easily the worst movie I've ever seen. I see the reviews defending it all talk about it being psychological and cerebral. The problem with that opinion is that it's wrong. Having a movie revolve around the inner monologue between an AI man and his imaginary devil boy is neither cerebral nor historically accurate. The camera work is awful. The acting by almost everyone is awful. The movie is every sin Russia committed in order except through a sepia tone filter of inaccuracies and exaggerations. The movie is not unique in a good way, not even in an interesting way. After the brief kid Putin backstory and the, "intro" you are watching the same scene over and over again. Someone or something has more power than Putin, Putin's devil boy says to kill them, Putin makes them dead in a very anticlimactic way, Putin gets more power, repeat from Afghanistan to Ukraine for an hour and a half. This is not subversive or quirky or interesting. It's boring, bad storytelling, assumes A LOT of the unknown thoughts behind historical events, and could be shot better by a highschooler with an iphone. Except for Putin talking about Bill Clinton once there's like no actual foreign policy in the movie, barely any politics, no management or actual leading, no nuance look on Putin in either direction. Every decision Putin makes is based on what this imaginary devil boy says. The Director just assumes Putin is possessed by the Devil and has no personality. I'm not defending Putin but why make a movie about a politician in a very interesting position if all you're going to do is water him down to a demon? Why not just make a movie about the actual Devil at that point. I don't understand what this movie was trying to say or what it wants us to feel. I don't think any of these scenes played out remotely irl for the reasons the Director thinks they did. I don't know how you can manage to make a biography about one of the most well documented figures that feels mostly made up. I could overlook propaganda and fiction if it was entertaining or emotional, but it's just flat out boring and poorly made.

Putin is a brilliantly bad "movie." Seriously, it takes a lot of talent to pull this off. I truly believe that the creators did a gargantuan job to make absolutely everything in this movie dumb, laughable and disconcerting. Like Scary Movie, but with the bonus of parasitizing on the tragedy of the Ukrainian people. As a cherry on top, the hard drive with the final cut was pissed on to give the film that artsy yellow filter. I won't dignify this incoherent garbage with analyzing any more of its features, because I've wasted enough time on it already.

In a distant future, we may live to see not only a handful of serious biopics about Putin, but also a new Armando Ianucci who will bring us the work similar to The Death of Stalin. But not now. Now, we only have Patryk Vega, the most hated filmmaker of Poland, and his abomination that will, God willing, shortly descend into obscurity. Make no mistake, it's not "so bad it's good" or a guilty pleasure, it's just guilty.

The script is hopeless, filled with shallow dialogue and devoid of any coherent plot or meaningful character development. It feels like a patchwork of lazy tropes, thrown together without any thought or effort to create something engaging or impactful. The acting is equally lackluster, with performances that range from wooden and uninspired to outright cringeworthy. It's clear that even the actors weren't convinced by the material they were working with.

However, the most glaring flaw-and the one that truly sinks this movie-is the disastrous use of AI. The AI-rendered face of Putin is embarrassingly bad. It's poorly integrated into the film, with lighting and textures that don't match the surrounding environment. The result is something that looks less like advanced technology and more like an amateur's botched Photoshop attempt. Every time the AI face appears on screen, it pulls you out of the story (what little there is of it) and makes you painfully aware of the film's technical shortcomings.

The overall experience is a complete waste of time. Every minute felt like a chore, as though the movie was actively trying to frustrate and disappoint. It's particularly disheartening because the premise had potential. With better writing, acting, and production values, it could have been something akin to The Death of Stalin-a sharp, satirical, and darkly humorous exploration of politics and power. Instead, we're left with a pale, clumsy imitation that fails on every front.

A shame, really. What could have been an incisive political comedy is instead an example of everything wrong with rushed, low-effort filmmaking.