Citoyen X

"Citizen X" tells the story of "The Butcher of Rostov", nickname for a heinous and perverse Russian serial killer who claimed 52 lives from 1978-92. The film focuses on the novice detective (Rea) who doggedly pursued the killer against all odds in the face of an uncooperative bureaucracy in self-serving and convenient denial. An HBO product for t.v., the film offers a solid cast, good performances, spares the audience much of the grisly details, but plays out like a docudrama sans the stylistics of similar Hollywood fare. An even and straight-forward dramatization of a serious and comparatively little known story more interesting than "Jack the Ripper". (B)

Citizen X is one of those films where you don't just wait to see who the killer finally was the enjoy the rolling end credits. This movie is a very taut and tense affair. It has minimal dialogue, less locations and that's what makes it almost theatrical. The story is about the serial killer manhunt in Communist Russia in the 1980s. Stephen Rea, his is a master subdued performance, is the main intelligence incharge, who is helped in his search by a Colonel, played by Donald Sutherland. The movie takes its time to unfold the sequences. there is no rush of fast editing, loud action sequences or shouting dialogue. It's an underplay all the away, and the performances, and setting encourages that. An unforgettable Docu-drama, i would recommend CITIZEN X to everyone who like drama movies.

People who liked Silence Of The Lambs need to watch this film because Andrei Chikatilo makes Hannibal Lector look like Donny Osmond. This is a horrifying true story to dwarf any fiction. HBO always makes the best films and it just doesn't get any better then this. Stephen Rea gave an outstanding performance as a dedicated policeman who realizes he will basically have to catch this monster by himself. He is no cardboard cut out but a human hero. There is one scene where he dreams of this brutal child killer and then it shows him weeping and embracing both of his children. You feel so bad for this poor man and so furious at the stupid government that wont even admit there is a serial killer in their midst. I couldn't believe that one scene where Joss Ackland's character says that serial killers are a decedent Western phenomenon. If they had only staked out those train stations like Rea's character wanted they could have caught this monster much sooner and saved many innocent people from the most horrible death you could imagine. Donald Sutherland is a great actor and he gives his best performance here in the way his character evolves and changes. He is very cynical to Burakov at first but then begins to share his anger and finally there is a bond of respect between them. I loved that scene at the end where he finally tells Burakov how much he respects him. Lets no forget Jeff Demunn as well, he was in another tv movie that appeared later in 1995 called Ebbie. He is chilling as this nerdy, weak-looking monster. He doesn't rate or rave but he is terrifying in creating evil. The scene at the end where Max Von Sydow's psychiatrist reads that profile to him is excellent. Just by the expression on his face you sense this mans anguish as he realizes he is the monster in the profile. There is one footnote I wanted to add that the movie did not mention. It makes it out like Chikatilo started killing in 1982. He killed a young girl in 1978 and confessed to it after his arrest. The Soviet police were horrified because they had already arrested, charged, tried, convicted and executed another man for the crime! Another innocent victim of this monster.

I remember following the case of Andre Chicatillo in the newspapers while I was living in South Africa. They had photos of him sitting in his cage while being prosecuted in court. Not, as it turned out, to protect the court members, but to protect him from the public. This was fascinating, albeit morbid, reading. I later heard that a film had been made by HBO about the case, but it was made for American TV. Bummed! Strangely, CITIZEN X got a limited cinematic release in South Africa. I charged down to the local Ster Kinekor complex and duly bought a ticket (I was alone; my girlfriend at the time was only interested in the likes of STEEL MAGNOLIAS and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES). Wow! What a brilliant film. Why wasn't it released to a wider audience? Had it not been made for TV, it could have got an Oscar nomination or 2. There is no way to spoil the ending; who the killer is is never kept from the audience. Jeffrey DeMunn portrays a truly terrifying psycho. He is calm, downtrodden, considered a failure by his wife and subjected to constant ridicule and humiliation by his superiors at work. By committing these horrendous acts, he gets to feel strong, powerful.

Fighting to catch him against all odds is a pathologist, played to excellent turn by Stephen Rea, in one of his strongest performances. He must battle the snail-pace of Russian bureaucracy, the primitive resources he has at his disposal and (above all) the refusal by his superiors to acknowledge that the USSR even has a serial killer. The general in charge (Joss Ackland) says that serial killers are "a decadent, Western phenomenon". Only Donald Sutherland is willing to help, but his help must be under the counter. The ever-brilliant Max Von Sydow plays a Russian psychiatrist who breaks protocol and decides to help the investigators in their quest. It is the first time in Russian history that a shrink is used to build a profile of a serial killer still on the loose, and he has everything to lose if his involvement is made public.

CITIZEN X is brilliantly acted, well written and the music and editing only add to the tension and theme of the film. Excellent support from a horribly underused Imelda Staunton and a real sense of impending doom make CITIZEN X a film worth seeing. This was too good to be made for TV

Citizen X tells the story of Andrei Chikatilo, The Ripper of Rostov, who killed 52 people in 8 years time, mainly women and children. It shows how the investigation was obstructed by Soviet bureaucracy, how hard it was to investigate the crimes. It does the job in such a brilliant way that it will leave no-one untouched. In the beginning it's perhaps a little bit slow of pace, but it really grabs you as the story unfolds. I can only say that, next to "The Silence of the Lambs", this is by far the best movie about a serial killer I've ever seen.

It is very hard to say which actor's performance stands out above the rest in this movie. Stephen Rea is really brilliant as the inexperienced forensic expert who is put in charge of the investigation. Donald Sutherland's performance as his cynical superior, and the only person in the Russian government willing to help him, is as outstanding as Rea's. And what to say about Jeffrey DuMann, playing the serial killer? DuMann brilliantly created a character who inspires empathy rather than hatred. Yes, he is a monster, but he is also a sad figure, oppressed and ridiculed by his wife, his boss, his co-workers... He is tortured, ashamed, as well as extremely vicious.

I can only recommend this movie to everybody who's interested in a well-made docu-drama, where the actors are still more important than the special effects. It deserves at least a 9/10, perhaps even more if you ask me.