AFM: The Russian President Is A Doddering But Dangerous Dictator in ‘Putin’ (Exclusive Trailer)

Kinostar has dropped its first trailer for Putin, the first international production from Polish box office king Patryk Vega, who now goes by the name Besaleel. Pitched as a political thriller and psychological portrait of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the film, judging by the trailer, is unlikely to have many fans in Moscow.

Besaleel, who says he conceived the project as an artistic protest against the “Russian dictator and the war in Ukraine,” shows Putin alternatively a doddering old man shivering in soiled diapers, as a gangster-style mob boss blackmailing his predecessor Boris Yeltsin and as a cold-hearted killer ordering bombings and assassinations.

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The director recreates several real-life events, including the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis, in which Russian security forces pumped toxic gas into the crowded Dubrovka Theater to rescue hostages from Chechen terrorists, an action that resulted in the death of up to 130 hostages. The carpet bombing of Chechnya under Putin’s watch, a military move many say anticipated Russia’s approach in the Ukraine war, is also highlighted.

The president’s personal life also comes under scrutiny, with a scene depicting Putin humiliating his ex-wife Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya by flaunting his relationship with his much younger girlfriend, Alina Kabaeva.

Kinostar is handling world sales for Putin at the American Film Market. The German group will also release the film in several European territories.

You can check out the Putin trailer below.

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