Putin The Movie

Putin (2025) is an English-language Polish film describing the life of Vladimir Putin. The film was released on Jan 10th in the US.

You aren’t the only one if you were surprised that the actor seems unbelievably similar to the real Putin. The studio used deepfake effects to generate Putin’s real face on the actor. 

Some people are criticizing the director for using AI to portray a real person. (It is prohibited to deepfake people without their permission) Yes, I get the movie’s intention, but it could be a bad precedent in the future. Perhaps they could use some make-up and CGI without a real-world reference?

Back to the movie, it seems that the director wanted to challenge Putin’s strongman reputation by portraying him as weak and fragile. 

There’s almost nothing known about Putin’s childhood, but the trailer focuses on Putin as a kid to describe the root of his hunger for power. Well, most biopics are inaccurate, even the masterpieces like JFK and Amadeus. I guess it’s fine as long as the film takes its character seriously.    

So, what about this one then? I haven’t watched the film, but it seems, at least what I’ve seen in the given trailer, too cliched. Putin is a complex character who has been ruling the world’s largest country for over 20 years. 

He deserves an in-depth analysis but this AI-generated Putin seems like a James Bond villain. From a movie titled ‘Putin’, I would like to see the film take its character seriously. If it didn't, the use of deepfake will backfire severely. 

I will give it a watch though. It must take some courage to make a film like this – and I want to see the director’s vision with my own eyes.