Citizen XTo catch a killer, one must have the resources to do so, and to deduce how and when the killer kills. But to incriminate a killer, one must solve a puzzle, completing the image of the killer--from motive (the "why") to personality--ultimately building the case for guilt. Can one man do it all? Citizen X is a procedural psychothriller set before and after the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1982, a new coroner named Viktor Burakov (Stephen Rea) is brought a highly decayed corpse found in a field to examine. Convinced that something is missing that is needed for his assessment, he asks for the woods near the place where the body was found to be combed for evidence. Seven more bodies are brought to him, marking the beginning of a decade-long manhunt for the most prolific known serial killer in Soviet history: Andrei Chikatilo (Jeffrey DeMunn).
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Most serial killer movies focus on the actual solving of the crime and subsequent catching of the killer. Citizen X is not too different in this regard, but instead is more of a study of its protagonist, a man who values action and efficiency--a poor fit for the byzantine bureaucracy of the Soviet Union. After bringing his findings to the head of the local militia, a cynical (yet bemused) lifelong politician named Colonel Mikhail Fetisov (Donald Sutherland), he is received with ridicule and derision by the assembled board of other Soviet blowhards, who would rather sweep such an inconvenient truth under the rug. Yet behind closed doors, Fetisov appoints Burakov to be the head of what he calls "The Killer Department", responsible for finding the killer independently, and receives a nominal promotion for the job. But each clue Burakov uncovers is only met with more and more resistance, and his requests for assistance with pursed lips from his bosses. All the while, Chikatilo continues his rampage, luring children from assorted train stations into the woods, and violently murdering and defiling them. The years roll on, and despite the glacially slow progress, once the Soviet Union falls, Burakov and Fetisov finally receive free reign to capture Chikatilo via the support of the army under Fetisov. All of this is history, but it took almost ten years before the case was closed, and not without the aid of a brave psychologist named Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky (Max von Sydow), whom Burakov and Fetisov sought out for guidance in profiling this elusive killer, who Bukhanovsky in turn dubs "Citizen X".
Made for HBO in 1995, one can't help watching Citizen X and not making comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs. Both movies deal with serial killers, and concern the determined investigator who devotes their every waking hour to finding them. Both movies also give the audience insight into the killers by varying degrees. In the case of Chikatilo, he is a henpecked factory worker and former school teacher who lost his earlier vocation for molesting a child. His wife never misses an opportunity to mock him, especially for his sexual inadequacies. Citizen X almost goes so far as to make this horrendous killer sympathetic, but its frequent episodes showing his savagery quickly dispel this sense. In fact, one of the most confusing things about Citizen X is the casting. Surely, Donald Sutherland is an amazing actor, but a dialogue coach would have been welcome in this movie, as too few main characters possess a convincing Russian accent, although they make the attempt. And Jeffrey DeMunn plays Chikatilo as such a sad sack that it paradoxically makes his execution at the end come across as some kind of injustice, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Burakov endures humiliation of his own by the likes of Fetisov's superior, a corpulent and embittered old man named Bondarchuk (Joss Ackland), in a sense mirroring the humiliation Chikatilo faces. Of course this weighs on Burakov as well, and after making an explosive comment in the office which gets back to Bondarchuk, Burakov has a breakdown. Up until now, Burakov and Fetisov had a tense working relationship, yet with each learning a little from one another, even if begrudgingly, about performing their duties under the confusing constraints of Soviet bureaucracy. After Burakov's breakdown, Fetisov finally steps up to protect Burakov's position--an altruistic move heretofore unforeseen in the man who claimed to not find it worthwhile to fight for anything. In a sense, the procedural plot is a backdrop for the more interesting side of Citizen X, which is about this crumbling of the proverbial wall between these two men from two different walks of life, finding camaraderie together. It is ironic that in the film's final act, after Burakov has been freed of the Soviet leash which has bound him for years, he validates some of Fetisov's attitudes toward the nuances of hierarchy by cluing in some of the soldiers under his command about a surprise inspection, saying that "you need to give them a little sugar now and again". It is also interesting to compare Citizen X with a comparatively recent miniseries by HBO, called "Chernobyl", about the eponymous Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In both stories, both men in the story are forced by circumstance to reevaluate their views of the other, both united by their common desire to see good done, even under the shadow of Communist rule.
Recommended for: Fans of a procedural serial killer movie, made more interesting by focusing primarily on the challenges of solving the murders despite the obstructions the government puts in their way, and about two very different people who find common ground in the process. Citizen X lacks the polish of higher profile movies like it, but nevertheless represents an intriguing point in history and explores the ultimate flaws of living under the iron fist of a bureaucratic regime, more interested in protecting its interests at the expense of its citizens' welfare.
Made for HBO in 1995, one can't help watching Citizen X and not making comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs. Both movies deal with serial killers, and concern the determined investigator who devotes their every waking hour to finding them. Both movies also give the audience insight into the killers by varying degrees. In the case of Chikatilo, he is a henpecked factory worker and former school teacher who lost his earlier vocation for molesting a child. His wife never misses an opportunity to mock him, especially for his sexual inadequacies. Citizen X almost goes so far as to make this horrendous killer sympathetic, but its frequent episodes showing his savagery quickly dispel this sense. In fact, one of the most confusing things about Citizen X is the casting. Surely, Donald Sutherland is an amazing actor, but a dialogue coach would have been welcome in this movie, as too few main characters possess a convincing Russian accent, although they make the attempt. And Jeffrey DeMunn plays Chikatilo as such a sad sack that it paradoxically makes his execution at the end come across as some kind of injustice, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Burakov endures humiliation of his own by the likes of Fetisov's superior, a corpulent and embittered old man named Bondarchuk (Joss Ackland), in a sense mirroring the humiliation Chikatilo faces. Of course this weighs on Burakov as well, and after making an explosive comment in the office which gets back to Bondarchuk, Burakov has a breakdown. Up until now, Burakov and Fetisov had a tense working relationship, yet with each learning a little from one another, even if begrudgingly, about performing their duties under the confusing constraints of Soviet bureaucracy. After Burakov's breakdown, Fetisov finally steps up to protect Burakov's position--an altruistic move heretofore unforeseen in the man who claimed to not find it worthwhile to fight for anything. In a sense, the procedural plot is a backdrop for the more interesting side of Citizen X, which is about this crumbling of the proverbial wall between these two men from two different walks of life, finding camaraderie together. It is ironic that in the film's final act, after Burakov has been freed of the Soviet leash which has bound him for years, he validates some of Fetisov's attitudes toward the nuances of hierarchy by cluing in some of the soldiers under his command about a surprise inspection, saying that "you need to give them a little sugar now and again". It is also interesting to compare Citizen X with a comparatively recent miniseries by HBO, called "Chernobyl", about the eponymous Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In both stories, both men in the story are forced by circumstance to reevaluate their views of the other, both united by their common desire to see good done, even under the shadow of Communist rule.
Recommended for: Fans of a procedural serial killer movie, made more interesting by focusing primarily on the challenges of solving the murders despite the obstructions the government puts in their way, and about two very different people who find common ground in the process. Citizen X lacks the polish of higher profile movies like it, but nevertheless represents an intriguing point in history and explores the ultimate flaws of living under the iron fist of a bureaucratic regime, more interested in protecting its interests at the expense of its citizens' welfare.