Original Title: “Le Mage du Kremlin”
Set against the backdrop of Russia’s turbulent transition from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the rise of a new autocracy, this dark satire, based on the 2022 novel by Giuliano da Empoli, follows Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano), a brilliant, avant-garde theatre director turned spin doctor. As he recounts his life story to an American journalist (Jeffrey Wright), Baranov reveals his transformation from cynical artist into the architect of the post-Soviet structure of political power.
As Baranov aligns himself with a rising, enigmatic KGB agent named Vladimir Putin (played to precision by Jude Law), Baranov also constructs a state where truth is fluid and reality is a manufactured commodity. As we witness the pair’s Machiavellian rise, we see the evolution of a Kremlin that is less a traditional seat of government, more a theater of the absurd where the manipulation of media, the staging of crises, and the co-opting of dissent serve to consolidate absolute control. It is a chilling, intellectual examination of how the “wizard” behind the throne helped craft the modern Russian state.
R | France | 2025 | 2h 16m
Directed by Olivier Assayas
Starring Jude Law, Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander
Strand Film Series sponsors
