1. Child 44 Is Banned In Russia For Portraying Soviet Citizens As "Physical And Moral Subhumans"
Child 44 - an adaptation of a far better novel starring Tom Hardy as a Russian detective trying to solve a series of child murders - was released to little fanfare earlier this year. And though it was ill-received in most countries for being just plainly bad, the Russians took particular offence to the film's portrait of its country - and its history. So it was banned. Vladimir Medinsky, the Minister of Culture, claimed that Child 44 made its citizens into "physical and moral subhumans, a bloody mass of orcs and ghouls. He went on to make a direct comparison to The Lord Of The Rings, stating that the Russia of Child 44 was not a country, but Mordor. This is how our country - the same one that was victorious in the Great War, became a world leader and put the first man in space - is being portrayed." Medinsky went on to write that "movies like this shouldnt be released in our countrys cinemas, earning money from filmgoers, not on the 70th anniversary of the victory or at any time." And to be fair, the man has a point: in line with Medinsky's comments, Child 44 was derided in the US for its bizarre, cartoon-like accents and its strange "Cold War mindset." Like this article? What do you make of all these incidents? Are there any other movies that were branded as racist in 2015 that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
