Kremlin Praises Oliver Stone's 'Snowden' as 'Brilliant' and 'a Must-See'

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in ‘Snowden’ (Photo: TIFF)

By Vladimir Kozlov, The Hollywood Reporter

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has praised Oliver Stone’s Snowden, which is opening in Russia on Thursday.

Peskov was quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying that the movie, centered on NSA leaker Edward Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is “top quality.”

Related: ‘Snowden’ Film Review

“[It has] a brilliant script, and, what is most important, it is nearly a documentary,” he said. “This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn what actually happened. It’s a must-see.”

Peskov added that he would recommend to people in Europe and the U.S. to watch the movie.

Earlier this month, RIA Novosti reported that Snowden, who has lived in exile in Russia since the summer of 2013, appears in the movie in a cameo and that the version to be released in Russia is four minutes longer than that slated for release in the U.S.

Related: Oliver Stone on Edward Snowden: “America Is Fed Bull—- and We Buy It” (Q&A)

However, it hasn’t been revealed what exactly the four minutes cut from the U.S. version contain.

The script of the movie, written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald, is loosely based on Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena’s book Vremya spruta (Time of the Octopus) and British journalist Luke Harding’s nonfiction book The Snowden Files.

‘Snowden’: Watch a trailer: