Overview

• The film premieres in competition at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, adapted from Giuliano da Empoli's 2022 novel with a script by Olivier Assayas and Emmanuel Carrère.
• Paul Dano plays spin doctor Vadim Baranov, a character modeled on former Kremlin adviser Vladislav Surkov, set against early post-Soviet upheaval.
• Jude Law says he does not fear repercussions for portraying Putin and describes focusing on the leader's opaque public persona through restrained performance.
• Assayas characterizes the work as a reflection on modern politics and the smokescreens that conceal it rather than a straightforward rise-to-power story.
• The lineup also includes Jim Jarmusch's competition entry 'Father Mother Sister Brother' and out-of-competition screenings by Lucrecia Martel and Andrea Di Stefano, with Laura Samani in the Orizzonti section.