Russia remains as mysterious as ever, the KGB has disappeared, although! A Bolshoi prima ballerina falls victim to an accident during a performance on stage and must give up her career. Her uncle takes advantage of her distress to recruit her into the secret services. It’s no longer the USSR with its all-powerful KGB.
An agent is infiltrated into the high command by the CIA, and the dancer is going to be trained in the art of espionage. We discover special schools, and then she approaches an American agent, the mole’s contact. Who is the traitor? The entire film poses this question to us. We are pleased to see Charlotte Rampling in a secondary, yet essential, role.
The exchange of spies reminds us of the Berlin Wall. Here, in Austria and Hungary, eastern and western agents clash violently. Red Sparrow, the sparrow, is a well-chosen title, as this girl caught in a spiral where she plays with her life and narrowly avoids being killed several times, is, according to her mission, meant to deliver not the mole, but…
This is the beauty of this 2-hour 21-minute film. You don’t notice the time passing, and you find yourself in Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, and even London. In fact, has Russia changed? Has the wind of freedom toppled the communist dictatorship, or has it merely changed its name?
The question remains. Two societal concepts clash here: the freedom advocated by the Western world and a fanatical nationalism (since birth, the human being belongs to the state). Red Sparrow, a significant moment, a captivating and gripping film.
Thierry Jan
