Mr. Jones (2019) User Reviews

A powerful film that will stay with me a long time

[maccas-56367 · 8/10 · 21 September 2020]

It felt a bit like 'Spotlight' transported back into the 1930s USSR. It sees journalist Gareth Jones traveling to Ukraine, and discovering the horrors of Stalin's man-made famine. This is the first film I've seen depicting this particular atrocity, despite learning about it (and the Holocaust) in school.

The film certainly shifted intensity once Gareth finds a way to reach Ukraine and slowly discovers the conditions firsthand. Numerous scenes will be etched in my memory - fruit on a train, a crying baby, singing children, "Kolya" and a footchase through snow-covered forest. It was intense. Some viewers will probably start feeling some of the hunger themselves.

James Norton delivered a really strong performance as Gareth Jones. Vanessa Kirby and Peter Sarsgaard were great in supporting roles too. Peter Sarsgaard seems to be seriously typecast as the sleazeball villain in everything these days.

The film follows the story of Gareth Jones as much as it does the famine itself, interceded with appearances of George Orwell. It's the first film I've seen by director Agnieszka Holland and I'm impressed! Will keep a lookout for her future work. Disappointing "Mr Jones" has somehow slipped under the radar for many. Definitely recommend this to those after a powerful, though-provoking film depicting real-life events.

Brave Mr Jones

[brockfal · 8/10 · 28 December 2021]

Sometimes cinema can bring history alive and little known facts and personalities can be highlighted or rediscovered, and so it is here. Gareth Jones was a diplomat and journalist who wrote about the terrible famine in the Ukraine during the early 1930s which the Soviet's, and many others, we're trying to hide at the time. It's a sober but fascinating insight into a almost forgotten episode, and is very skilfully done with a fine central performance by Edward Norton as Jones and well staged scenes of his tense visits to the USSR and his gradual discovery of the regimes corruption and lies. Tightly scripted and directed, this is one worth discovering.

The History of Propaganda

[marcus-fliegel · 8/10 · 14 February 2019]

Saw this at Berlinale and was impressed. Agnieszka Holland created a strong historical drama, employing artistical license here an there. But the main points (different from what user-973-741969 claims in his review) are true. Blasphemy it is only to those who still worship Stalin. The movie follows political advisor/journalist Gareth Jones. After losing his job with the british foreign secretary in London he tries to reeignite his career through an interview with Stalin. And why not since he already interviewed Hitler and Goebbels (where the movie lazily unterplays his admiration for the pre-war-Nazis. Sadly Jones didn´t live to see their downfall and could never reevaluate his naivety). In Moscow, Jones contacts NYT-Reporter Duranty, who is well connected an a staunch supporter of Stalin. Jones doesnt make it to the Soviet Leader but can board a train south to inspect the industrialisation of the Soviet Union. But he escapes the agents that accompany him and travels on his own through Ukraine to witness the Holodomor, a famine that cost millions of lives as a result of Stalins communist reshaping of agriculture in 1933 and was until then mostly unheard of outside of the USSR - and even in the SU. Back in the west Jones has a hard time to prove his allegations. His camera was taken, Duranty, who has a much better reputation calls him a liar and even the british government doesn´t want to risk the lucrative economic relations with the USSR. Holland focuses only partly on the famine and more on the role of stalinist propaganda and the gullability of western media and politics, that swept this catastrophe under the rug for decades. It´s a thrilling movie that doesn´t have the budget to show millions of dead and instead focuses on intimate an gruesome details. The luxury of the elites (western & russian) in Moscow are in stark contrast to the suffering of the peasants. "Mr Jones" brings us to the beginning of worldwide propaganda and fake news strategies where a journalists live is cheap and the people are just pawns in hands of big powers.

What a sad story

[Gordon-11 · 31 August 2020]

This story is very engaging. The scenes of famine do etch onto the viewers' brains. I feel very sad for the fate of a righteous whistleblower.

The Deaths of So Many...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 24 July 2020]

... innocent comrades, as a result of tyrannical, incompetent and blinkered beliefs, in a system that still exists today bizarrely in some parts of the world. The famine of 1930s Russia and the man who bravely revealed those secrets presented in a down to earth and informative way with minimal poetic licence.

An important and largely forgotten bit of history

[Vindelander · 7/10 · 22 June 2020]

I knew nothing about Gareth Jones or Duranty before this and thought it an excellent film. James Norton is as good as ever and the rest of the cast are excellent.

Superb filming of a terrible time in the development of communist USSR and the conditions that the peasant class had to endure. A must see if you're interested in history but don't expect any laughs or edge of the seat thrills.

Cold (reporting) war

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 4 March 2021]

While different times had different issues and threats for journalists, I reckon it always at least a little bit intriguing seeing certain things, that one may not have been aware of (I'm talking about myself). Yes I also knew that reporting certain facts was not easy, but there is more to this than just a journalistic story. There are a lot of elements (read humans) involved here.

And the stories told take their time. For some it might actually be a bit too much time they take. A well told story, which I haven't checked for accuracy (imdb and other sources are your go to cases like this). Great actors and suspense until the end guaranteed

Back in the USSR

[SteveMierzejewski · 9/10 · 9 February 2020]

This is a powerful film which I'm afraid few people will watch. Even those who watch it, may feel the situations it portrays are exaggerated or completely made up. They are not. The problems caused by Stalin in Ukraine are, if anything, downplayed.

But beyond the historical accuracy are the questions about the behavior of the people and their morality as it is portrayed in the film. Did diplomats and politicians really behave like this? Not only did they behave like this. They continue to behave like this. I've worked in government NGOs overseas and I've seen the insincerity of most diplomats close up. I've also experienced their ability to blind themselves of the truth if the truth endangers their high paid positions.

There are people out there now who know the truth and who are being told to keep quiet. There are people I've known who were undermined when trying to do what was right. So, this movie is telling the truth for them. You may not like what it has to say, but who says the truth has to be pleasant.

Fake News isn't a new thing

[Karynsiegmann · 7/10 · 16 February 2020]

Mr Jones Is the true story of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who exposed the famine in the Ukraine that killed millions during Stalin's reign. While 'Fake News' as a term is relatively new the concept is not and is used by governments all over the world and at many times throughout history, this film is a timely reminder to never believe everything, even from reputable sources. Great performances and some nice cinematography. particularly in the Ukraine scenes. A little bit slow to start but once it got going it was excellent.

Truth old and new society wants to ignore

[spaulagain · 9/10 · 4 January 2021]

This film does a fantastic job framing the naivety of western elites before WWII. Too caught up in their own circumstances, they ignored blatant signs of the genocide to come, as well as what already existed. However, one journalist (Mr Jones) uses his instincts to investigate what was presumed "magic success" in Stalin's Russia.

We follow his brave journey to the Ukraine where he witnessed the reality of Stalin's glorious Moscow, mass famine. But not before being exposed to the fearful propoganda being pushed by Stalin's press. And later on, by his own colleagues back in Britain and the US.

This film tells a great true story that's well directed and acted. It even included George Orwell, a foolish believer in socialism at the time himself. I was surprised that Hollywood would make such a film. But then realized why the opening title credits were not typical of Hollywood. And with the Director being from Poland, that explains the willingness to tell such truth against Stalin.

A hard reality

[otnememento-2 · 7/10 · 29 January 2021]

This movie is a very close depiction of one of the terrible communism regimes that the world has suffered. What the movie shows is very real and shows the harsh consequences of a terrible regime. Communism has caused more victims than Nazism but very few movies have been able to depict this reality. This is one of them. Nice work from the director and all the cast.

Gripping historical thriller

[lybabij · 10/10 · 15 June 2020]

For anyone looking for a gripping historical thriller of Europe in the 1930's - this is a must see. From the halls of power in Chamberlain's London to the halls of power in Stalin's Moscow, a story unfolds drawn from the real life of a young Welsh diplomatic attache/turned reporter named Gareth Jones (James Norton). Jones' desire to investigate the USSR's mysterious source of cash for their worldwide industrial spending spree turns into a fast-paced, life and death series of events that include a trip into the wintry hell of starving Ukrainian villagers, the debauched revelry of foreign journalists in Moscow, international blackmail, and what it means to uphold the cause of truth and justice against all odds. Outstanding performances by James Norton as Gareth Jones, the main protagonist and Peter Sarsgaard as the Pulitzer prize winning (and since discredited) journalist Walter Duranty. Looking forward to watching it again with friends!

Before war...

[Thanos_Alfie · 7/10 · 5 March 2020]

"Mr. Jones" is a Biography - Drama movie in which we follow the story of a Welsh journalist (Gareth Jones) who travels into the Soviet Union to uncover an international conspiracy in the early 1930s. George Orwell's "Animal Farm" was inspired by him and his journey.

I liked this movie because of the very interesting plot and the very good interpretations made by its cast. It had much of suspense and many scenes which left me speechless. The interpretations of James Norton who played as Gareth Jones and Peter Sarsgaard who played as Walter Duranty were both exceptional. Another interpretation that has to be mentioned was Vanessa Kirby's who played as Ada Brooks and she was very good at it. The direction which was made by Agnieszka Holland was simply amazing and she presented very well the story-line and the incidents that happened.

A memorable movie on this awful time in Ukraine's history is yet to be made

[steiner-sam · 5/10 · 27 March 2022]

This is a journalism biopic with a purpose. Set in the early 1930s in London, Moscow, and the steppes of Ukraine, it tells the story of young freelance journalist Gareth Jones and his investigation into how Stalin financed his five-year plans by starving Ukraine to export its wheat. This was better known as the Holodomor of 1932-1933.

Initially, we meet Gareth Jones (James Norton) making a presentation to advisors of David Lloyd George (Kenneth Cranham) about a recent interview he had with the new German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. He raises concerns about Hitler but is laughed off by the older men around the table. Jones is gifted in knowing four languages--English, French, German, and Russian.

Based on his interview coup with Hitler, Jones wants to go to Moscow to interview Josef Stalin to learn about the rapid economic expansion the world is hearing about. He particularly wants to know how Stalin is financing this expansion. He arrives in Moscow, begins to see signs of authoritarian control, and learns a good journalist friend, Paul Kleb (Marcin Czarnik), who wanted to talk to him about a big story, has been killed in a "robbery." He also discovers that established journalists like Pulitzer-Prize-winning Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard) are okay with being restricted to Moscow and pass the time with drug-fueled orgies. However, Duranty's protegée, Ada Brooks (Vanessa Kirby), is more restrained and does provide Jones with valuable information.

Jones then sneaks out of Moscow to see Ukraine for himself. He discovers the stories of happy collective farms are untrue and sees starving people reduced to cannibalism and eating tree bark to survive. He is eventually arrested but is expelled from the Soviet Union because of his connection to Lloyd George.

He writes about man-made famine, but his articles are rebutted in papers like the New York Times by Walter Duranty. However, the Hearst papers do give Jones some publicity. He also persuades George Orwell (Joseph Mawle) of his truth, resulting in the book "Animal Farm." At the film's end, we learn that Jones was killed in 1935 in Inner Mongolia the day before his 30th birthday, probably at the behest of the Soviet NKVD.

"Mr. Jones" is an interesting movie despite the unfortunate title. The cinematography is striking almost fades to black and white when Jones is immersed in the famine in Ukraine. The story is made unnecessarily complex by introducing the George Orwell character; "Animal Farm" was not published until the 1940s. The biggest issue was the unnuanced clarity with which the producers approached the topic. There is evil, and there is good, and only the blind cannot see the truth. A memorable movie on this awful time in Ukraine's history is yet to be made.

A story so simple that a child can understand it

[harry_tk_yung · 11 April 2020]

My "headline", quoted from the beginning of the movie, has layers of meaning. It is a VO from George Orwell, writing "Animal Farm". It can also be interpreted to refer to the story of the title protagonist, who purportedly had inspired Orwell to write "Animal Farm", an allegory to Stalin's "man-made famine", from investigative journalist Jones's devastating revelation. This biopic of Welsh reporter Gareth Jones (James Norton) runs like a thriller for the first half. With the credentials in the form of an interview with Hitler, Jones wants to do the same thing with Stalin, but is soon intrigued by something else: his friend and peer Paul Kleb in Moscow's tip to him in a phone conversation that is suspiciously cut short. In Moscow, he is told that Kleb was shot dead in a robbery three days ago. The personage disseminating this information is Walter Durante (Pater Sarsgaard), the Pulitzer-honoured New York Times correspondent. Jones is suspicious but Durante is slippery as an eel. This man is also known as "our man in Moscow" in the U.S. political circle back home. Through Durante's assistant Ada Brooks (Vanessa Kirby), a principled British journalist and a good friend of Kleb, Jones become privy to the clue left behind by the victim with Brooks. On the pretext of being Lloyd George's political adviser, he secures passage to the forbidden zone in the Ukraine. He tries to persuade Brooks to join him but the realist in her has the better over the idealist, and she declines joining his crusade. The objective of Jones's mission is to find out where Stalin gets his money to finance the industrial big leap forward that is shaded with ominous military intentions. He wants to get behind the apparently impenetrable screen to see for himself whether the Soviet's claim of an agricultural paradise in Ukraine is true or a sham. That is the first half of the movie. The second half some in the audience may not be able to stomach, literally, as there is a scene at which Jones vomits violently. As well, the ending is gloomy: in the real world there is no poetic justice. In the clashing duel of stories published on the Ukraine famine, Pulitzer winner Durante gain the upper-hand even though Jones manages at least to expose the ugly truth to those who believe him. In the on-screen text before the final credit roll, we learn that Jones died before reaching 30, assassinated, while Durante enjoyed a long life (73, definitely long in terms of the general life expectancy of the time) embracing his Pulitzer to his grave. But it is a good movie, well worth watching. Norton carries the movie well with his earnest portrayal of the Quixote-like Jones. The two supports are excellent. Sarsgaard brings his often-creepy screen presence to the sly villain he portrays. Kirby demonstrates her range beyond royalty and femme fatale. Worth mentioning is the cinematography, particularly the sequences in Ukraine. It would look like this segment is shot in black-and-white, but in fact it is only the scenery and the objects shot. The landscape is snow-covered and the human's faces are pale and grey. Throughout the movie, you may also notice an extensive use of mirror reflections, in fact excessive, in my view.

(UN)Forgotten Truth

[khrystiayavna · 7/10 · 28 January 2020]

Mr. Jones (Obywatel Jones) is a film directed by Agnieszka Holland, which premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival. It is a story of a young journalist, Gareth Jones, who was one of the first to tell the world about the famine in Soviet Ukraine.

It is not the first time the Polish director has taken up filming a drama about Ukraine. For example, the movie In Darkness (W ciemnosci) is set in Lviv during the Second World War. The issue of genocide is common for both films. In Darkness explores the topic of the Holocaust, whereas Mr. Jones focuses on the Holodomor.

Agnieszka Holland's movie is distinctly different from Oles Yanchuk's seminal film Famine-33 or George Mendeluk's Bitter Harvest. The director shows the Soviet Union, including the Ukrainian SSR, through the eyes of a foreigner who himself witnesses and the major Ukrainian tragedy.

Gareth Jones' story is devoid of pseudo-documentary features and ridiculous romanticism. A young man, the former advisor to Lloyd George, a well-known political figure, wants to interview Joseph Stalin. He is willing to understand where the money the USSR uses to implement all its projects are coming from. The gentleman is confident that having talked to Hitler and having obtained the recommendation from the former British prime minister, he will be able to achieve his goal.

Upon the journalist's arrival in Moscow, his focus shifts from the leader of the state to his 'gold', i.e. the fertile Ukrainian black soil. Gareth Jones embarks on a journey after which his ordinary life will never be the same again.

Mr. Jones is ambitious and brutally honest. He is not afraid to disclose his point of view even at the risk of losing recognition or ruining his career. In spite of being ridiculed by the experienced politicians, despite being oppressed by the unjust system, he firmly stands by his convictions.

Mr. Jones' image is a combination of idealism and slight naivety. Would any other foreigner win such trust of the Soviet Union's officials that they send one single warden to accompany him, the warden who could be easily escaped from?

The idealism of the protagonist sharply contrasts with the dark-mindedness of Walter Duranty, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the New York Times, the so-called 'inside man in Moscow.' He is one of those who conceal the crimes of the USSR.

The film does not fully explain Duranty's motives. We can only guess what has happened. Has he been bribed? Has he given in to pressure? Or has he tried to protect his family?

In contrast, Gareth is the one who dares to find out the truth and tell it to others.

Mr. Jones faces the famine right after he has escaped from the warden. The encounter is set against the backdrop of a dark carriage which the journalist has managed to jump into. It is full of exhausted, weary people and it is a bright colored orange Gareth takes out of his bag that brings the given place to life.

At first he is surprised that he so easily manages to exchange a loaf of bread for a warm coat. However, the further he goes, the worse things happen around him.

There are a few scenes in Mr. Jones you might want to look away from. That is what the bitter truth is like. Even though it may seem to be on the verge of sheer madness. There are starving people everywhere; a baby who is still alive is thrown on the cart to the dead mother; cannibalism appears to be closer than ever. It is worth mentioning that all the events depicted in the film are accompanied by the authentic songs of the times of the famine. They convey both hope and hopelessness of the people who are singing them. The Holodomor in the life of a young Welsh journalist has grown into a personal tragedy. The tragedy of helplessness and vulnerability.

Gareth simply faces the barrier he is not able to break through, which is the AUTHORITY. He looks for other levers of influence and succeeds in finding them. Yet, people who can make a difference remain unconcerned with the problems of some distant, strategically unimportant people.

The piercing cold winter in the empty streets as well as the characters are far from being hyperbolized; the images appear to be plausible and true-to-fact. The life of the people of that time in the large USSR machine is shown in great detail. It is the reality where the propaganda is stronger than the truth and all the people are 'happy' moving towards the bright communist future, while the deaths of millions of people are wrapped in catchy slogans of progress and hidden in a deep drawer, away from other people's eyes.

A number of topics covered in Agnieszka Holland's film are still relevant today. Some media bombard people with populism and propaganda. Even the leading media sometimes neglect fact-checking and share unreliable information. So, has the situation changed since Gareth Jones tried to get at the truth? It seems so. Is the objective truth established everywhere and every time? Apparently, the answer to the latter question is debatable.

Understatement, manipulation and the issue of common humanity are critical to modern society as well. Therefore, the given film should be considered not only as a tour into the past, but also as a mirror reflecting the problems we are facing today (yet, the difficulties we experience nowadays might appear slightly different).

It is hard to realize that Mr. Jones is not just a movie, it is a part of people's lives, real lives. Somebody passed away too early, someone stayed in that earthly hell a bit longer and very few managed to escape.

Agnieszka Holland's film itself should be experienced as a small life, during which you sympathize, fight, hate and forgive.

Dictatorship over the Proletariat

[josephevans-36016 · 7/10 · 10 May 2023]

Exposing the Soviet lie; the divergence between misguided theory and visible results of attempted realization; between promise and reality. As the old peasant Russian proverb goes: "Bad crops are from God, hunger comes from men." While Communist party members were enjoying a buffet with caviar, veal, and butter, they were practicing forced food extraction from peasants for their picture-perfect display window in the select urban centers. Shops, restaurants, and villas were limited to a particular circle of people with status privileges. They lived in desirable neighborhoods, some were given Western cars with a chauffeur, had access to special resorts, and separate superior health-care facilities.

This was true of all communist societies. The privileges which came with power deepened the spell of power. They were removed from the daily life of the population, from standing in line for various scarce commodities, from the world of low incomes and standards of living. These privileges made them deaf and blind about the cares of the nation. Idealistic motivation, elevation to high office, and privileges that confirmed their importance together provided strong defenses against disaffection.

Why replace capitalists with another elite hierarchy endowed with special privileges? Some arbitrary, uninformed, party apparatus, making all of the decisions? That's a recipe for corruption on a mass scale. Before 1942, and after 1945, nowhere in the world was there such a fearsome concentration of suffering and political despotism, nowhere else was misery so disguised with advanced slogans. Even the NKVD (political police) had been known to hand over German anti-fascists to the Nazi Gestapo.

True, during de-Stalinization (1953-1970) mass purges had ceased, the population of the Gulag was reduced, and the worldwide Communist monolith gradually split apart and slowly faded over 30 years until its collapse. But the ideology had not changed, the state party still had a monopoly of political power, the KGB was still operating without fear of competition, and the economy was still centrally planned and directed. The regime had not become more liberal, unless one regarded the interpretation of party, KGB, army, and the state's commanding position in the economy a form of pluralism. The idea that it could reform itself and become more liberal and democratic was far-fetched.

I watched this film twice, and recommend it to everyone. Calling it "exaggerated" sounds like an Holocaust denier with their eye glued to an ideological key hole. Some apologists don't want to be disillusioned of their utopian ideals. True, the quality of good books is better than films or online information; especially the books published in the 1990s, after the opening of the secret Soviet archives.. As far as other commenters, no, Stalin is not the same as Putin in Ukraine. One can draw parallels between the two, but this does not make them the same. Putin is quasi-authoritarian with a wounded nationalism, but not totalitarian like Stalin. Russia has had conflict with Ukraine for ages.

We get anti-Nazi movies obsessively, but rarely do we get anti-communist movies. No atrocities maybe? The Nazis were vicious, but some apologists see communists as simply "intellectually misguided," which is implausible. Stalin's terror famine in Ukraine, the Gulag, the deportation of the Kulaks, the Katyn Forest massacre, Mao's Cultural Revolution, the Hungarian revolution, Che Guevara's executions in Havana, the flight of the boat people from Vietnam, Pol Pot's mass slaughter; material enough for dozens of movies. Furthermore, great villains make for great drama, and communism's central casting department is crowded: Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hönecker, Ceaucescu, Pol Pot, Col. Mengistu, all of cosmic megalomania-along with their squads of hacks, sycophants, and stooges, foreign and domestic. The victims of communism, and its heroic resisters, deserve to have their stories remembered.

Mr Jones

[henry8-3 · 6/10 · 22 June 2020]

The story of Gareth Jones (Norton) a journalist who exposed Stalin's robbery of the grain in the Ukraine resulting in widespread famine and the death of millions.

Something of a slow burner and ultimately quite frustrating as it demonstrates how many people either refused to believe Jones or sought to discredit him, particularly the appalling Duranty (Skarsgard). This is informative well made stuff with fine performances from the 3 leads - just perhaps not as moving as it might have been.

All the terror, horror and atrocities of the war and its effects on Ukraine...

[RosanaBotafogo · 8/10 · 1 March 2022]

All the terror, horror and atrocities of the war and its effects on Ukraine, the Holodomor (Famine of Terror or the Great Famine), including empty villages, starving people, cannibalism and the forced harvest of grain, a beautiful but belated homage to the Lord Gareth Jones (journalist), very sad, appropriate for the current war Russia x Ukraine, a real story, Portraits of War, told simply and efficiently, as he wanted and reports at the beginning of the film...

Worth watch it!

[aggelousia · 7/10 · 25 August 2021]

A very good movie which refers to the brutallity of Stalin's regime. I didn't know about this events and I was shocked at first. This movie shows with an objective way, in my opinion, the Holodomor and generally the situation in Soviet Union when Stalin was thee bellwether. The actors gave us amazing performance and the plot will incite your interest. So I definately recommend. You will true history. Also,is based in real life.

Ignore low score from Russians

[brownbrown-75526 · 10/10 · 17 May 2020]

This movie is a must watch for those of us who have never heard of Gareth Jones, a man worthy of a place in the history of journalism.

Let we never forget the lessons of history snd let's us teach them to new generations.

The Movie scores High in acting, script and story, sets and music.

A good historical expose

[paul-rose7-246-61823 · 7/10 · 8 August 2020]

This film is recommended for young idealists in the west who despise capitalism and believe that communism is a viable alternative. The film exposes Stalin for the hideous monster he was on par with Hitler or perhaps worse as he killed millions of his own people needlessly. Well acted by a prolific cast though perhaps a little long and requiring a little more editing but well worth a watch.

GUT-THUMPING COVER-UP...REAL STORY OF A MAN-MADE FAMINE STARVING MILLIONS

[LeonLouisRicci · 8/10 · 27 August 2021]

The Allies had to Eat a Lot of Crow while Looking the Other Way and Knowingly Suppress the Willful Starvation of Millions by Stalin.

A Sociopathic Dictator that was as Evil as Anything Humanity had to Endure.

To Win the Fight Against the Nazis and Japan for World Dominance, it was Decided to Allow Stalin to do What Stalin Did Without Interference.

This is the Story of a Naive but Brave Journalist, Gareth Jones, who Ended-Up Paying the Ultimate Price for being a Truth-Teller.

And His Uncovering First-Hand the Deliberate Starvation of Millions in and around Ukraine in the Soviet Union.

He Tries to Get Someone, Anyone to Believe what He has Seen to get the World to Oppose such Mass Murder.

Politics, Greed, and Self-Preservation were Opposing His Every Effort and the Movie Tells His Story in a Personal and Compelling Montage of Boardrooms, Trains, and Captivity.

The Enormous Human Toll is so Devastating and Horrendous, the Story-Telling can Never Really Capture the Heart-Breaking Suffering of the Population.

But it has to be Attempted Now and Then to Remind the World of the Evil Around Us and to Shed Light on the Darkest Deeds Done Right Before Our Eyes and the Consequences of Doing Nothing.

The Film is Captivating, Consuming, and Frustrating with an All-Too-Real-Feel that Brings the Story Home for Us to See a Relatively Unknown Event and is only so, because We Let it Be Unknown.

Sadly, Almost a Century After it Should Have Been Known.

Showcases the importance of journalism.

[neobateman · 6/10 · 17 April 2019]

Mr. Jones is the last film I managed to experience at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. Directed by Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa) and starring James Norton (McMafia), Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Fallout) and Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State). This historical thriller revolves around the independent journalist Gareth Jones (Norton) in the early 1930s travelling to the Soviet Union attempting to find out the secret to Stalin's economic success. What he finds is beyond any horror he could ever imagine. What unfolds is fight for survival, truth and integrity. There is a very solid cast in this film, Norton delivers a fantastic performance in the title role giving charisma, making him a relate-able figure to audiences. Kirby plays a mysterious agent that is involved with the sinister disappearance of a fellow journalist. Sarsgaard plays a washed up Brit who found success in Stalin's Soviet Union and may be the stand out in this entire cast. Even all the minor actors give terrific performances allowing us to be drawn into this world. The main feeling I had however while watching this picture was a very similar feeling I had with films like Darkest Hour, Jackie, The Iron Lady or J Edgar. They feel like a Wikipedia article, interesting and important material but a essential emotional connection is missing. I was an observer of this world the film presented, but I wanted to be apart of it. The problem was that the film was very uneven giving us unnecessary information. We are forced to pay attention and can not allow emotions to sink in, therefore I was left cold for the majority of the picture. That's not to say there aren't any strong moments in the film, towards the second act, Jones is forced to travel in through the snowy ice desert of Siberia (not to spoil too much). The way this sequence is shot, with many wide shots showcasing the vast emptiness, including the sounds of the wind made me feel like I was freezing to death in a warm cinema. There are truly scary revelations in this sequence of the film and Norton delivers a great performance in these scenes but there simply weren't enough of them. If the film decided to make this less about Jones himself and more about the case, this would have been one of the greatest thrillers I would have seen in a while. However as it stands, Mr. Jones is a watchable film with a very great visual presentation and good performances. However the film also lacks a emotional connection that hurts the experience.

Amazing Topic but Why Change the Story SO MUCH?

[mycannonball · 4/10 · 20 July 2021]

The settings and cinematography in this are great. It's based on the true story of journalist Gareth Jones who risks his life to expose the famine in Ukraine that the Soviet government is trying to cover up. It is very loosely based though, because the real journalist was smart. The character in this movie is reckless and bumbling. He naively heads to the Ukraine to see his mother's homeland and basically stumbles upon the famine and falls victim to it himself. I didn't even know the real story before I watched this, but I kept asking myself why this guy was so obtuse and oblivious to all the dangers around him. Then when I looked up the man the movie is supposed to be about, I found out that he WASN'T an idiot after all. Shaking my head at the filmmakers for thinking that it would be more exciting if he were more like a horror story protagonist and less of a heroic journalist. People watch "historical biopic" movies and assume they are representing the real story. I think it's irresponsible when the filmmakers veer from the true story in a way that makes good people look bad.