10-Minute Standing Ovation for Wizard of the Kremlin at Venice Film Festival

According to CinemaDrame News Agency, The Wizard of the Kremlin, directed by Olivier Assayas, received a 10 to 12-minute standing ovation on the fifth day of the 82nd Venice Film Festival. The film, starring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin, has so far earned a 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Set in early 1990s Russia, the story explores the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a world that promises freedom while descending into chaos, a young artist named Vadim Baranov—who has turned to television producing—unexpectedly becomes an advisor to Vladimir Putin, a former member of the FSB, the successor to the KGB. Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, Zach Galifianakis, and Tom Sturridge are also among the cast. The Wizard of the Kremlin is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Giuliano da Empoli.

At the film’s press conference, Assayas remarked that The Wizard of the Kremlin is about “the shift in politics during our lifetime. It is about how modern politics were invented. Part of the evil that arose came from Vladimir Putin’s rise to power in Russia. We made a film about what politics has become, and about the frightening and dangerous state we all feel we are living in. It applies to many authoritarian leaders.”