The use of AI imagery has been of great concern in Hollywood, where the technology threatens to wipe out many jobs, particularly among special effects technicians and extras. You can bet there will be some controversy arising over this one.
I was in stitches watching the trailer for “Putin,” which opens January 10 in 64 countries, including about 200 screens in the U.S. Yes, this is a biopic about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s climb to power. The film was directed by Polish filmmaker Patryck Vega.
The film’s budget was $14M and shot in Poland, Ukraine and Israel. Vega tells Deadline that his crew were “often under great peril, shutting locations and running for cover.” As you can see, much of the dialogue is in English with subtitles. It all plays rather wonky, and over the top.
Slawomir Sobala plays Putin, and he’s aided by digital makeup, deepfake AI imagery which makes the whole thing look rather chilly, and uneasy. His face and physique have been altered to enhance the facial similarities.
Vega, 47, a former journalist, claims the film’s financing came “from private sources,” and he doesn’t want to name names for fear that Russia could retaliate.
The film follows Putin’s life over six decades from the age of 10 when he is seen being beaten by his stepfather up to where he starts to control Russian bureaucracies via “sinister manipulation, cutting off the internet and other media when necessary.” It’s obviously not going to paint the most pleasant depiction of Russia’s current head of state, and especially given that Ukrainian money was most likely part of the film’s financing.
I mean, the film features a scene where Putin cowers on a floor in diapers.
“Hope,” Na’s first film in ten years — his last one being the exemplary “The Wailing” —is a gloriously messy, blood-soaked sci-fi epic that may become a cult classic despite—or because of—its polarizing nature.