At the Berlin Festival in February 2019, Stalin's Shadow was still called Mr Jones . Its name does not say much to the French public, but it is known to the Anglo-Saxon world. The film by Agnieszka Holland recalls the first feat of arms of the young and cheeky Welsh journalist: an interview with Hitler, who just came to power in 1933. The same year, Gareth Jones (James Norton) landed in Moscow in the hope to interview Stalin on the Soviet miracle.
Read also: Red famine
The Polish director knows a ray of it on the imposture of Russian communism and on the cinema. The first part of the film is worthy of the best spy films. Paranoid climate, widespread surveillance and pretense make Moscow an oppressive city from which Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard), the head of the New York Times office , shamelessly disseminates Soviet propaganda.
Horror tale
When Jones gets on a train to see Ukraine for himself, the tale turns into a horrifying tale where the children have
This article is for subscribers only. You still have 29% to discover.
Subscribe: € 1 the first month
cancellable at any time
Enter your emailAlready subscribed? Log in