Richard Sorge Biopic to Be Screened in Japan

In mid-June, Japanese movie theaters are beginning to screen a new feature film about Richard Sorge, with British actor Iain Glen as the legendary Russian spy.

The producer, Masahiro Shinoda, says his objective was to picture "the real Sorge." "Sorge liked women, wine and fast speed. Everyone was smitten with him. I didn't have to invent anything. It was far more fascinating to try and picture Sorge the way he was," he told journalists.

The 72-year-old filmmaker, who announced that the Sorge biopic would be his last work, a leading figure in Japanese cinematography, a winner of Berlin and Houston movie awards /1986 and 1984, respectively/, and a haunter of the Venice Film Festival.

"What is unique about the production is that Shinoda tries to see historical events through the eyes of the spy, not of an ordinary person," commented Glen.

The shooting of the biopic began in February 2001 and took place in Japan, Germany and China. Officials from Russian organizations in Japan have been invited to the premiere, which is scheduled for June 14th.

Richard Sorge /1895-1944/ was a Soviet secret agent and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Disguised as a German journalist, he collected valuable intelligence, including that about the upcoming invasion of the USSR, in Germany, China and Japan of the 1930s and 1940s. Was arrested by Japanese police in October 1941 and executed in November 1944.

Vyacheslav Bantin, RIAN