Olivier Assayas is back on the Croisette of the Cannes Film Festival, albeit at the Cannes Market. And the French auteur’s next project is easily one of the buzziest packages at the festival so far. Variety reports Assayas’ next film will be “The Wizard Of The Kremlin,” which sees the director reunite with “Irma Vep” star Alicia Vikander for a political thriller in the vein of “Carlos” and “The Wasp Network.”
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Based on Giuliano da Empoli‘s 2022 book of the same name, “The Wizard Of The Kremlin” centers on the life and rise to power of Vladimir Putin’s infamous advisor and spin doctor Vadim Baranov. Assayas and Emmanuel Carrére‘s co-adapt script follows a young Baranov in the aftermath of the USSR’s collapse in the early 1990s as he goes from a young artist and TV producer to an influential government official and one of Putin’s closest liaisons, bending the truth as he sees fit. Read on for an official synopsis of the film:
Working at the heart of Russian power, Baranov blurs truth with lies, the news with propaganda, directing the entire society like one great reality show. Only his love for the magnetic, free-minded Ksenia can turn him away from this dangerous game. ‘‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’’ sets out to tell Baranov’s story, and through his eyes, tell the dark secrets of the regime he helped build.
It helps that Da Empoli’s book was a sensation in France, a bestseller that won the Grand Prix Du Roman and was a finalist for the Goncourt Prize. But Assayas’ “The Wizard Of The Kremlin” has an all-star cast, too, with Paul Dano leading the charge as Baranov. However, it’s unclear who Vikander plays, most likely Baranov’s love interest Ksenia. Other cast includes Jude Law, Zach Galifianakis, and Tom Sturridge (who starred in “Irma Vep” with Vikander). It’s worth nothing that Vikander and Law co-starred in Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” last year, which had a world premiere in competition at Cannes. As for Dano, Baranov is another meaty role for the actor, who’s coming off a career-best performance as The Riddler in Matt Reeves‘ “The Batman.”
Therefore, it’s a good thing that Assayas promised his cast they’ll have plenty of work with in his press statement about “The Wizard Of The Kremlin.” “The Film will have in common with “Carlos” and “Wasp Network” the fact that it will be character-driven, providing exciting roles with strong actors,” said Assayas. “Beyond the passions of men navigating the dangerous fluxes of modern politics, we see the powerful cinematic sweep of History in the making. It’s drama, it’s action, it’s about trying to make sense of the chaos that is transforming our world in the strangest, most disturbing ways.”
That makes “The Wizard Of The Kremlin” sound like one of Assayas’ most ambitious projects to date; not bad for a 69-year-old nearly four decades into his career. And good thing that the film has premier backing, too: Olivier Delbosc‘s Curiosa Films and Gaumont will produce the film, with Gaumont’s Alexis Cassanet handling the film’s international sales at Cannes. “Assayas is one of the only contemporary European filmmakers who is celebrated everywhere, including in America,” Cassanet said in a press statement, “and he has the power to rally around him A-list actors who are eager to accompany him on this project which promises to be subversive and captivating.”
Subversive and captivating are apt descriptions for almost any Olivier Assayas film, but “The Wizard Of The Kremlin” indeed sounds like a magnum opus for the French director. It’s great news for his US fans, who are already eager to screen his latest film, “Suspended Time,” which premiered at the Berlinale in February. And with any luck, “The Wizard Of The Kremlin” will get the red carpet treatment with a huge world premiere next year; maybe back at Cannes?