The American star has filmed a confused and narcissistic documentary in tribute to Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people.
Sean Penn superstar. Already present on stage Thursday evening during the opening ceremony of the 73rd Berlinale to welcome Volodymyr Zelensky in video, the American actor and director was eagerly awaited in the German capital for his documentary, Superpower, co-directed with Aaron Kaufman. Initially, Penn wanted to tell the journey of a comedian who became president. Present in kyiv on February 24, 2022 during the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Penn changed his tune. Or rather, events led him elsewhere, without anyone really knowing where. Penn has the merit of being honest: “ I don’t know anything about Ukraine “. He never heard of the annexation of Crimea, nor of Maidan. And Superpower seems primarily intended for Americans, in the genre “ Ukraine for Dummies “. But the 62-year-old Hollywood star is not content to play the pedagogue from his villa in Santa Monica.
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Penn wets the shirt. He is in all the scenes, in all the shots. Penn with the mayor of kyiv, former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko. Penn with the Ukrainian Minister of Defense. Penn with the Ukrainian foreign minister. Penn with the Polish Prime Minister (he wears a tie for the occasion). Penn with a cap in his sedan to cross the Ukraine. Penn in a bulletproof vest pulling a wheeled suitcase. Penn with a resident of kyiv who shows him her apartment gutted after a bombing. Penn in Face Time with Miles Teller, the partner of Tom Cruise in the last Top Gun, to encourage the Ukrainian pilots. Penn at the concert of the Dakh Daughters, an all-girl rock band. Penn in a trench helmet on his head near the front line with soldiers now convinced that their president “has balls“. Penn on the set of Fox News to convince the American people to support Ukraine.
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An ax montage
Each sequence, filmed hastily even when there is no reason to hurry, lasts between twenty and thirty seconds. The ax editing mixes snippets of interviews and images from news channels or videos from social networks. The result is an indigestible jumble. Exchanges between Penn and Zelensky do not fly much higher. “ What is the position of the United States? asks the American actor. “ She could be firmer “replies the Ukrainian president. The two men embrace, send compliments. (“ It’s important that you are here », « We felt you were born for this moment »).
We often see a bottle of vodka on a table. Alcohol does not excuse everything, but it partly explains the erratic nature of the conversations. Penn, firecracker hair, has only the words “ freedom » et « democracy to the pasty mouth. Superpower, a bad two-hour propaganda clip glorifying Zelensky and especially Penn, doesn’t just have flaws. At the very least, it has a quality. Show Bernard-Henry Lévy, whose film in tribute to the resistance of the Ukrainians, Slava Ukraine, released in theaters on Wednesday, for a model of humility and a specialist in geopolitics.