“Child 44”, filmed in the Czech Republic with largely
British production facilities, directed by Daniel Espinosa, is based on the
first of a trilogy of novels by Tom Rob Smith about a Stalinist era Soviet
agent Leo Demidov, played here by Tom Hardy.
The first novel is based on the history of a series of child murders by
Andrei Chikatilo.
In this rather long film, Demidov is disgraced and
reassigned, but then he becomes passionate about investigating the
murders.
At the midpoint, there is dialogue about “homosexuality”,
that anticipates Russian anti-gay attitudes today (as explored in the
documentary “Campaign of Hate”, shown at HRC and reviewed here Oct. 14,
2014). In particular, Demidov makes the
trite and illogical connection to pedophilia, a belief that helped drive the
Russian anti-gay propaganda law passed in 2013, and led to Putin’s comment (“please
leave the kids alone”) before the Sochi Olympics. The film uses the ironic
quote “There are no murders in paradise”, and the rest of the Soviet
establishment is in denial that a communist society even “breeds”
homosexuality, let alone pedophilia. There
is even some dialogue claiming that the perpetrator was incubated in Nazi
Germany, which is portrayed as “western” and “capitalist”.
The film looks like a period piece, with smaller Russian
cities and factories, on the edge of Siberia, modeled well, as well as the
steam trains, and Moscow is often shown with CGI as it probably looked in the
50s. Still, the film, in English with considerable
corporate support from Lionsgate, Summit, and Ridley Scott’s production
company, looks a bit glossy, when compared to real Russian film (like “Leviathan,
Jan. 28, 2015). Stalin’s Russia was even more horrible than it looks here (oh
yes, the conservative critics will say this).
The film is obviously intended for “arthouse” distribution, but has a
big budget and all-star, largely UK, cast, including Noomi Rapace (“Lizbeth”)
as Reisa Demidov, Gary Oldman, and Vincent Cassel.
The official site is here (Summit
Entertainment).
I saw the film at the AMC Shirlington before a small Thursday
night audience.
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