In 1982, In Soviet Russia, the body of a woman is found in a field surrounded by woods. The forensics expert, Lt Viktor Burakov (Stephan Rea), sends Federenko (Radu Amzulescu) and his men back out to the area to try to find something that will identify who the victim is. They come back with 7 more bodies, all women and young people, both boys and girls, in various rates of decomposition. When he checks the records, he finds that there were 7 additional bodies previously found with similar wounds.
Viktor reports to a panel of a 6-man committee, Colonel Mikhail Fetisov (Donald Sutherland), KGB head General Ivanov (Czeslaw Grocholski), Comrade Tatevsky (Ion Caramitru), Comrade Dunenkov (Ralph Nossek), Comrade Ignatiev (Andras Balint), and Comrade Bondarchuk (Joss Ackland). When he reports to the high command that there is a serial killer in Russia, he is told by Bondarchuk that there are no serial killers in the Soviet State and that it is a decadent Western phenomenon. Viktor is put in charge of the case by Colonel Fetisov.
A man is arrested for the crimes. He is a gypsy (Sandor Teri) who is given information on what to say. Viktor believes that the confession is coerced. When two more bodies are found, the government administration is not willing to admit they are wrong. Viktor comes up against general bureaucracy and stubborn narrow minded government officials. The only person receptive to what Viktor needs to continue to look for the killer is Colonel Fetisov.
In the next year, six more bodies are found. A special prosecutor, Comrade Gorbunov (John Wood) is brought in from Moscow to handle the investigation with no further results. A year later, Andrei Chikatilo is arrested at the train station. In his bag is a knife. Blood tests, however, come back negative. Comrade Bondarchuk orders Chikatilo’s release because he is a member of the Communist Party in good standing. The murders continue. The investigation grinds on.
Eventually, Viktor is given more freedom to conduct the investigation as he sees fit. With the assistance of psychiatrist Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky a profile is developed. Using the profile Viktor forms a plan to determine the most likely places the killer would strike. An all-out effort is launched.
“Citizen X” was released in 1995 and was directed by Chris Gerolmo. Gerolmo also wrote the screenplay. It is an American and Hungarian HBO television production psychological thriller and true crime drama. The film was based on the 1993 book “The Killer Department” by Robert Cullen.
The movie is based on the true-life story of Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. Chikatilo was a Ukrainian born Soviet. Nicknamed "the Butcher of Rostov", "the Rostov Ripper", and "the Red Ripper" he was found guilty of sexually assaulting, murdering, and mutilating between 52 and 56 women and children. It is believed that his murder spree occurred between 1978 and 1990. He was found guilty of killing 52 of the 56 people. Some suggest cannibalism may have been involved.
I’ve learned that the Soviet Union has the same issues with power as everywhere else. Everybody has a fucking ego. Although the movie is not propaganda per se, it does show the influence of it in how it can interfere with the normal course of business. It took 8 years from the time Chikatilo came on Viktor’s radar to the time he was actually arrested.
I really liked this movie. It’s probably the best film I’ve seen this year.