Sean Penn premiered Superpower last night at the Berlinale to a standing ovation, a documentary that was intended to be a portrait of the Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelenski, but which the Russian invasion a year ago turned into a testimonial account of the war, since it caught the entire crew, including the American actor and director, filming in Ukraine. The film is part of the Berlinale special section out of competition and is one of the highlights of this 73rd edition of a markedly political nature. "I am glad that they consider me a propagandist if what I do helps to uncover the truth," he assured this morning at a press conference regarding criticism from pro-Russians about his role in defending Ukraine.
"Our commitment is with the truth, with the fighting spirit of the Ukrainians who risk their lives, with the defense of freedom," he reiterated. Asked if he would make a documentary with Putin's version, Penn flatly refused: "I have no intention of talking to Putin. This is not the time," and addressed the Russian president as a "creepy little bully, a war criminal." "It was pretty clear to us that we weren't going to allow our film to be a podium for transparent deception," he said. Putin appears in some pictures from before and after the war as a distant-eyed and aggressive dictator. And we also see him with Penn and Jack Nicholson when they attended the Moscow International Film Festival in 2001.
“This is not an impartial film because it is not an ambiguous war, it is an extremely personal war,” said Penn, who along with co-director Aaron Kaufman and the rest of the film crew arrived in Ukraine in November 2021 to plan their film as a "whimsical tale of a comic actor turned president." The film is generous showing Zelensky at various times during his time as a television actor and showman, until he became president on May 20, 2019.
However, the project took a complete turn after the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. In Superpower we see a scruffy Penn, who drinks constantly and takes the pain of war as if it were his own country. In fact, the first question at the press conference was why he drank so much. “I am only going to respond to things that have to do with the film”, he has settled.
The actor travels to the front lines of the conflict to meet with the soldiers and see firsthand how the battle is fought. We even see him at the front wearing a helmet and chatting with some soldiers whom he later invites to see Top Gun: Maverick in a movie theater. On the way out, the film's actor Milles Teller talks to some of them and gives them his support. Penn's praise of Ukraine's wartime leader's courage has been constant since they met at his headquarters hours before the start of the invasion. "He is a man of extraordinary courage. When I met him, he left me touched. He conveyed that feeling that he had been born for that moment. I knew that he would not leave Ukraine, that he was going to stay with his family, even if he was the number one target one of the Russians."
Of course, like the Oscar-winning actor that he is, he appears in almost all shots as the absolute protagonist, with dark circles under his eyes and at various times very remorseful, interviewing ambassadors and people from Ukraine's politics and activism. Then in the direction of the Polish border, which they cross amid the traffic jam of tens of thousands of Ukrainians leaving the country. In Warsaw, he interviews the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, the European ally who had been calling for a tougher line towards Moscow. Superpower alternates these scenes with archival footage of the pro-European Maidan movement, the repression that followed, and Zelensky's rise from famed actor and comedian to his rise to power with the majority of the vote.
It also affects the annexation of Crimea in 2014, with Ukraine unable to defend itself, with an army still precarious and while leaders such as the then German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron tried to mediate or prevent further escalation.
And meeting several times with Zelenski, become a great friend. "Zelensky started out as a fascination. And as time went on, I don't think we thought he would become the person he has become. We saw him as a David against Goliath. He has proven to be much more cunning than Putin." has stated while calling for more military support for Ukraine. What is the first thing you would do when the war is over? Penn asks Zelenski by videoconference: "Going to Santa Monica for a few days," jokes a president who is always close and affectionate with the actor.
The Ukrainian president, who already addressed the public on video at the past Cannes and Venice festivals, appeared again during the opening gala. "Can art be outside of politics? Should cinema be outside of politics? This is an eternal question but today it is extremely relevant."
