Cast Spells and Toppling Spheres: A Kinetic Journey through 'The Wizard of the Kremlin'

For those who love a thrilling tale of power and deception, Olivier Assayas’ latest cinema spectacle, 'The Wizard of the Kremlin', fits the bill - and then some. It's quite an eclectic delicacy from the noted French filmmaker, who is equally adept at whipping up intimate domestic dramas and adrenaline-charged thrillers.

'The Wizard of the Kremlin' invites viewers along for a wild ride, charting the tumultuous, hurray-filled rollercoaster of post-Soviet Russia under the heavy-handed rule of Vladimir Putin (played to perfection by Jude Law).Assayas manages to bring real people and incidents to life, weaving a comprehensive narrative that covers three decades of Russian history, packed chock-full with high-stakes drama and power politics.

Throughout the film, Assayas masterfully takes us from one crucial scene to another, visiting offices, mansions, forests, and streets from Moscow to London. However, it's not just a whirlwind tour. The pace might become a bit topsy-turvy whenever it switches gears to character development or substantial drama, causing 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' to sound a wee bit lecture-like.

The film draws from Giuliano da Empoli’s 2022 bestselling novel and features an array of interesting characters. It's centered around charismatic "wizard" Vlad Baranov – a cleverly fictionised version of Putin's former trusted advisor Vladislav Surkov, brilliantly embodied by Paul Dano.

The narrative begins on an intriguing note as we meet Baranov through an engaging tete-a-tete with an American professor played by Jeffrey Wright at Baranov’s expansive Moscow estate. Their chat paints a picture of a cerebral, if somewhat cryptic, Baranov. Baranov's life story then unfolds in flashback, letting viewers join him on a journey from being a rebellious theatre director at the end of the Soviet era, through a wild stint as a profiteering TV producer during Russia's chaotic 90s era, to a key player in Putin's power consolidating narrative.

'The Wizard of the Kremlin' sometimes seems to speed along at 1.5x, with Assayas aiming to include as many influential incidents and figures from recent Russian history as possible. The result is a film that delivers a thoughtful glimpse into how a previously Communist Russia transformed into a brutal capitalist regime under Putin.

Some might find the seemingly endless roll call of characters a tad daunting, but Jude Law's remarkable performance as Putin is a mesmerizing screen moment. Law's seamless transition into the infamous dictator adds gravity and intrigue. However, in the third act, his absence felt like hitting the brakes on a thriving Formula-One car, dropping the film's momentum.

Although the movie doesn't neglect personal dramas – revealing a complex relationship for Baranov with an independent woman called Ksenia (Alicia Vikander) - it never lets you forget the bigger picture: a vivid portrait of a country undeniably transformed by a few self-serving individuals' machinations. As in the classic phrase, the villain is not necessarily Baranov, Putin, or the oligarchs. Rather, the main victim here is Russia itself.

While Assayas presents a wide-ranging chronicle packed with facts and historical insights, 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' might lack a certain je nais sais quoi to make it a legendary epic. Still, it offers an entertaining, intricate, and eye-opening view of Russia's potent power dynamic under Putin's rule.