The drastic effects of the failed economic, social, and
political climate in the Soviet Union after mid 1960s are often dubbed as ‘Era
of Stagnation’. Since Leonid Brezhnev’s governance (1964-82) led Soviet Union to this
period of disillusionment, the term ‘Brezhnevian Stagnation’ is also used.
After Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Cherneko and Mikhail Gorbachev rose
to power, but the systemic flaw remained as a constant, threatening factor. Eventually,
the long, slow death of Soviet Union happened in December 1991. Nevertheless,
none of the experts around the world anticipated the collapse of Soviet Union. And so
from the political and cultural perspective, West was intrigued to study the
decade before USSR’s collapse. Weighing in the gruesome last years of USSR, the
story of Andrei Chikatilo becomes one of the perfect representation of the pluralistic
ignorance prevalent in the 80s Russian society.
On 22 December 1978, 32 year old Ukrainian Andrei Chikatilo
stabbed 9 year old Yelena Zakotnova to death. By the time Chikatilo stood
inside an iron cage facing the courtroom trial in 1992, he killed 52
persons (it’s speculated that he killed more than 100 people and most of his
victims were not found and were under the age of 17). For each of the murder, he was awarded death
sentences. Chikatilo, the factory worker, committed most of his gruesome act
with a kitchen knife and a rope, which he often carried in his bag. He often
stabbed his victims more than dozen times, sometimes mutilating their sexual
organs and even removing their eyes. By 1982, the leading investigator of the
case Victor Burakov confirmed that it’s serial killing and informed to his
superiors about the pattern of killing. But, the investigation was hampered by
lack of forensic techniques and man power.
Most importantly, the superiors weren’t interested in
publicizing the killings, since they firmly believed serial killing is a
‘western phenomenon’. They blamed homosexuals, gypsies, mental patients, and
violent gangs. Of course, this is the era when Russian state media reported about
drugs on the streets of USA, but maintained that their society is crime-free.
The stagnancy in the upper echelons of bureaucracy led to more killings and
deliberately deviated investigation techniques. Chris Gerolmo’s 1995 TV movie
(aired in HBO) Citizen X chronicles the hunt for the Russian serial killer from
Mr. Burakov’s perspective. It is based on Robert Cullen’s non-fiction book The
Killer Department.
Citizen X is a fairly good presentation of the case, despite
the moderate production values and limited running time to stage the humongous 8
year span of investigation. The TV movie doesn't have any unique visual language, but the premise and fine
cast keep us intrigued throughout. Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, V for
Vendetta) plays Viktor Burakov, the passionate forensic expert/detective who
finds it hard to move alongside apathetic bureaucrats. Donald Sutherland plays
the righteous as well as the crafty colonel Fetisov, while Jeffrey DeMunn did the
role of vulnerable yet cold-blooded killer Chikatilo. Max Von Sydow made cameo as
psychiatrist Buchanovsky – the man who has played a crucial role in
constructing the killer’s profile.
In the initial parts of the narrative, Stephen Rea’s
performance wasn’t very engaging. Part of the blame rests on the script, which
got through the facts rather than realize inner life of the central character
Burakov. What’s at stake is explained in words, but there’s no real emotional
engagement with Burakov’s resolve. However, gradually the performance gets
better. The screen space Rea shares with Donald Sutherland brings few
interesting scenes. Mr. Sutherland pulls off his surefooted colonel character
with aplomb. And, Stephen Rea was at his best when he’s given the chance to
explore Burakov’s mental breakdown. Fetisov at a later point reads an FBI guy’s
report, in which he states that they used to reassign the duties of lawmen
working on serial-killing cases every 18 months. Burakov headed the gruesome
investigation (cornered by all bureaucrats) for nearly a decade, rarely taking
a holiday. The immense emotional burden the character carries is gradually well developed by Rea.
In one sequence, we could hear the sound of electrichka
train, while Burakov goes through the same routine to hunt down the killer,
yielding no results and unearthing more bodies. This was one of few well-staged
scenes (the other memorable one was introduction of Chikatilo through the shot of
a passing train) to showcase the grinding nature of the job. Electrichka
are electrical passenger trains which mostly ran through Soviet suburban and
rural units. Andrei Chikatilo eyed young, lonely runaways, loiters and workers
to just sit and speak with them. Eventually, he lured them to nearby woods. The
killing scenes are mostly filled with top angle shots of killer stabbing or
close-up shot of stabbed person’s face. It’s a bit dramatic for today’s
standards and this never achieves the hard-hitting effect created in Bong
Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (about an unsolved serial killing case in the
totalitarian Korea).
Citizen X makes a compelling crime/drama by chronicling the
search for the monster and also by exposing the inefficient bureaucracy of
Soviet Union. The film succeeds little better in depicting hunt for the
murderer. There’s lack of complexity in the inquiry of inept bureaucracy. It
personifies evil within the system through two-dimensional angry-faced high
official Bondarchuk. But still we got to remember that it’s a 100 minute film
trying to deftly maneuver between sea of real-life details. For better
understanding about the case, there are various other intricate articles and
books. Tom Rob Smith’s recent novel Child 44 was partly based on Chikatilo
case. In the novel, the killings are shifted to the dreadful period after Stalin’s death.
The speculation that Chikatilo’s brother was kidnapped and cannibalized (during
the worst famine in Ukraine) was used as a starting point for the novel. The
novel took a good look at the menace of Stalinism, although it followed many
conventions of a Hollywood movie (it had a very dull movie adaptation). Compared to
Child 44, Citizen X is a far better serial killer thriller. It’s also doubles
up as an engaging examination of a man’s steely determination to conquer the
evil.
★★★½
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