Mr Jones (2019)

Mr Jones is a historical drama (based on a true story) which premiered in 2019. The main character is the Welsh reporter Gareth Jones (1905-1935). The main topic is the famine in Ukraine in 1933 (Holomodor). Here is some basic information about this drama:

** Director: Agnieszka Holland
** Writer: Andrea Chalupa

** Languages: English and Russian

** Run time: ca. 120 minures

The cast includes the following:

** James Norton as Gareth Jones (1905-1935) – a reporter

** Peter Sarsgaard as Walter Duranty (1884-1957) – a reporter

** Kenneth Cranham as David Lloyd George (1863-1945) – prime minister of the UK 1916-1922

** Joseph Mawle as George Orwell (1903-1950) – a writer

** Krzysztof Pieczynski as Maxim Litvinov (1876-1951) – foreign minister of the USSR 1930-1939

** Vanessa Kirby as Ada Brooks – a reporter

** Marcin Czarnik as Paul Kleb – a reporter

The drama is divided into three chapters. Here is an overview:

CHAPTER ONE

** Jones is in the UK (ca. 15minutes)

CHAPTER TWO

** Jones is in the USSR (ca. 75 minutes)
** The chapter about the USSR is divided into three sections:

(A) Jones is in Moscow (ca. 35 m)
(B) Jones is in Ukraine (ca. 30 m)

(C) Jones is back in Moscow (ca. 10 m)

CHAPTER THREE

** Jones is back in the UK (ca. 30 minutes)

Total running time: ca. 120 minutes

What do reviewers say about this historical drama? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

** 64 percent = Meta
** 68 percent = IMDB

** 81 percent = Rotten Tomatoes

On Amazon UK there are at the moment more than 100 ratings of this product. The average rating is 4 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 80 per cent.

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. But if you ask me, they are too high. Why do I say this? Because this drama is flawed. There are several flaws which I will describe in the following:

WARNING! SPOILER ALERT!

I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone, but I have to mention a few details in order to explain my rating.

Before discussing the role of the main character (Jones) and the main topic (the famine in Ukraine) I will mention four minor flaws:

# 1. GEORGE ORWELL

The first person we see and the last person we see is the British writer George Orwell. He is alone. He is typing a story. At the same time he is reading the story aloud to himself (and the audience). The story is Animal Farm.

Orwell and his typewriter appear again in the middle of the drama (two times). In this way the movie-makers imply that Animal Farm is inspired by Gareth Jones and his report about the famine in Ukraine. But there is no evidence to support this notion.

In chapter 3, which is set in the UK, Orwell and Jones actually meet each other on two occasions. But in the real world there is no evidence to support this notion.

Orwell's famous story Animal Farm (which was published in 1945) is a strong criticism of Stalinism. But when Orwell talks to Jones shortly after Jones has given a public lecture, Orwell tries to defend and understand the Soviet government.

He says: perhaps the Bolsheviks are doing the best they can under the circumstances. He adds: what about the free schools? What about the free hospitals?

This does not make any sense. The author of Animal Farm would never try to defend and understand the Bolsheviks. He would agree with the critical comments made by Jones in his public lecture.

# 2. WALTER DURANTY

In Moscow Jones meets Walter Duranty who is the Moscow correspondent of the New York Times. Duranty invites Jones to a party which turns out to be quite wild (to put it mildly).

Jones is shocked by this experience. And I have a question about this scene: did Duranty really arrange wild parties in his apartment in Moscow in 1933?

This does not seem very likely. If he did, it would soon be discovered and he would be deported at once.

# 3. ADA BROOKS

At Duranty’s office Jones meets a female reporter whose name is Ada Brooks. He is interested in her. On a professional level and on a personal level.

In this drama, Ada is his love interest during his time in the USSR. Who is this woman? She is a fictional character. According to Philip Colley, a member of Jones’ family, Jones did not have a love interest during his visit.

# 4. PAUL KLEB

Jones is looking forward to meeting a friend and a colleague in Moscow. His name is Paul Kleb.

But when Jones arrives in Moscow, he is told that Paul was killed just three days before. Apparently, Paul was the victim of a robbery.

Jones cannot believe this. And before long he learns that his friend was killed to stop him from working on a forbidden topic: the famine in Ukraine.

Who is Paul Kleb? He is another fictional character. According to one reviewer (Paulina Siegien, New Eastern Europe, 27 January 2020), he was added to the script as a tribute to the real American reporter Paul Klebnikov who was murdered in Moscow in 2004.

Now it is time to discuss the role of the main character and the main topic.

MR JONES

The Welsh reporter travels to Ukraine. How long is he there? Two or three days. Where does he go? He visits two or three villages. That is all.

Most of the time he is all alone, walking through open fields which are covered by snow. This is March 1933. The winter in Russia and Ukraine is very cold!

He meets a few people and exchanges a few words with them, but he never has a real conversation with anyone.

This is not because of a language barrier. Jones is fluent in Russian. He can talk to the local people; and he can understand what they say to him.

Given that he is a foreign reporter on a secret mission, his behaviour is very odd. He draws attention to himself, even though this is not a good idea. In fact, it is very dangerous. He has to run!

The first time he manages to get away. But the second time he is not so lucky. He is arrested, transported back to Moscow and then deported from the USSR.

THE FAMINE IN UKRAINE

What evidence does Jones find during his visit to Ukraine? Not much. His evidence of a serious famine is in fact quite limited. Here are some examples of what he sees:

** Sacks of grain are carried from a warehouse to a truck. Jones asks one of the workers: where are they sending the grain? The worker says: to Moscow.

This may be true. But the worker cannot know that. He is just a worker. He can only state what he believes.

** A government official is handing out bread to people. He is surrounded by a large crowd of hungry people. Jones asks a women: "How long has it been like this?" She says: "They are killing us!" He wants to know how many have died. She says: "Millions!"

This women is standing in line hoping to get a loaf of bread. Is this killing? How can she know that millions have been killed? She cannot know anything like that.

** Jones passes a dead body in the street.

** A cart pulled by a donkey passes Jones in the street. The cart is loaded with dead bodies.

** Jones enters a house which seems to be abandoned. As he reaches the bedroom, he sees two frozen bodies.

To sum up: the total number of dead bodies seen by Jones is less than ten. While this is tragic, it is far from a million.

Even if everything shown in this drama is true, it cannot be regarded as solid and convincing evidence of a famine which is killing millions.

What is the reason for the famine? Is it man-made (deliberate) or is it accidental?

In the drama, Jones finds no evidence that the famine is a deliberate attempt to kill the Ukrainian people because they oppose the communist plan for collective farms.

What is the purpose of this drama? To tell the forgotten story of Gareth Jones, the Welsh reporter who broke the story about the famine in Ukraine which the Soviet government tried to keep from public view.

But if the famine is the main topic, why is only a quarter of the drama devoted to his visit to Ukraine?

Why spend only 30 minutes out of 120 on the main topic?

Why do the facts he uncovers during his visit not support the claim he wants to make: that the Ukrainian people are being killed by a man-made famine.

If Jones is a professional reporter, why does he act like an amateur?

He sees some unpleasant facts in two or three villages. He extrapolates these facts to cover the whole country, even though he has no personal knowledge about the reality and the situation in the rest of the country.

This method may be common, but highly dubious. As a reporter, he must know that he can only vouch for what he has seen himself. He cannot know anything about the 98 percent of the county he has not visited.

AN OBJECTION FROM THE FAMILY

Philip Colley, who is the great-nephew of Gareth Jones, has publicly objected to the drama and the way his great-uncle is portrayed in it. He has posted a long letter online. In this letter he explains why he is disappointed by this drama.

Here is an excerpt from his letter:

“In truth, there was no love interest. He didn't witness any dead bodies or any cannibalism, let alone take part in any. He never saw any grain requisition, forced labour or body-carts; he was never chased, never ran, never hid or disguised himself on his hike along the railway line. He was never imprisoned.

“Far from the claims of the film, I don't think he ever felt himself to be in any great danger, protected by his fluency in Russian, his charm, and a useful VIP gratis visa.

“Furthermore, the narrative frame of the film, that Gareth met George Orwell, is simply not true, despite James Norton and the filmmakers’ attempt to spin otherwise.

“Similarly, for the claim that Gareth inspired Animal Farm, there is no evidence.”

COINCIDENCES

Before getting to my conclusion, I have to mention four coincidences which are hard to believe.

# 1. ADA AND PAUL

When Gareth arrives in Moscow, he meets Ada. When he tells Ada about his friend Paul, it turns out that Ada knew Paul. What a coincidence! There is more:

Ada and Paul were close. Before Paul was killed, he wrote some notes about the forbidden topic, the famine in Ukraine, and gave them to Ada to keep in her apartment. When Gareth tells Ada that he is going to Ukraine, she gives him Paul's notes about the famine in order to help him with his investigation.

While watching this, we must remember the facts: Ada and Paul are both fictional characters. Therefore any notes written by Paul are also fictional. The whole story about Ada and Paul and his secret notes about the famine in Ukraine is pure fiction; a product of the director's vivid imagination.

# 2. THE OLD PHOTO

In 1933, Gareth Jones is in Ukraine. Many years before, his mother (Annie Gwen Jones) was an English teacher in Ukraine. For three years (1889-1892) she was a tutor of English for the children of Arthur Hughes, a businessman from Wales.

Arthur was the son of John Hughes (1814-1889), a businessman and engineer from Wales who came to Ukraine in 1869 to build and run a new factory.

The town that grew up around the new factory was named Hughesovska after the founder of the factory. From 1924 or 1929 the town was known as Stalino. Since 1961, the town is called Donetsk. All this is true and well-documented.

In the drama, Gareth talks to Ada about his mother and her job as an English teacher in Ukraine long before he was born.

In the drama, Gareth has an old photo which shows his mother standing in an open field in front of a large barn with a peculiar shape.

In March 1933, Gareth is running through a forest and later walking across some open fields covered by snow. While searching for a place to spend the night, he stops for a moment and takes out the old photo. He looks at the photo. Then he looks up and what does he see? The large barn with a peculiar shape! What a coincidence!

The barn is still standing, more than forty years after the photo was taken! And what is more: Gareth is now standing right in front of it! What a coincidence!

# 3. JONES AND DURANTY

When Jones is released from prison, a soldier shows up to escort him to the railway station (and send him back to the UK).

Just as Jones and the soldier are walking down a wide staircase, someone is walking up the staircase. Who is it? Walter Duranty! What a coincidence!

# 4. JONES AND ADA

Gareth and the soldier are walking to a car which will bring them to the railway station.

Just before getting into the car, Jones turns around and sees a large group of people leaving the building. In the crowd, he can recognize a familiar face. Who is it? Ada! What a coincidence!

One coincidence I can accept. Even two coincidences I can accept. But four amazing coincidences in a row! This is simply too good to be true!

Something like this will (almost) never happen in the real world. But something like this can easily happen in the magical world of movies where every detail and every movement is carefully arranged and planned by the director and the screenwriter.

CONCLUSION

I like historical dramas. I wanted to like this historical drama, but unfortunately it was not possible. Why not?

(1) The structure of the drama is unfortunate. Only a quarter of the total running time is devoted to the main topic.

(2) There are too many coincidences which are too good to be true.

(3) While the drama is based on a true story, historical truth is violated on several occasions.

Given this fact, I cannot understand why so many reviewers are prepared to give this drama such a good rating (four or even five stars).

This drama is not great; it is not good. It is not even average. It is fatally flawed and therefore it cannot get more than two stars (which means a rating of 40 percent).

REFERENCES

The famine in Ukraine 1933-1934 (Holodomor) is a highly controversial topic. I have listed two books which have opposite opinions and draw opposite conclusions regarding this chapter of Ukrainian and Soviet history:

** Fraud, Famine and Fascism: The Ukrainian Genocide Myth from Hitler to Harvard by Douglas Tottle (1987)

** Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-famine by Robert Conquest (1986)

PS. Agnieszka Holland (born 1948) is the director of several historical movies. The quality of these movies range from high to low. Two examples:

** The Burning Bush (2013) is an example of the high quality. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 96 per cent.

** Copying Beethoven (2006) is an example of the low quality. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 28 per cent.

Mr Jones (2019) has received some good ratings, but as you can see from my review, they cannot be justified.

*****

 

Agnieszka Holland (born 1948)

*****

 

Gareth Jones (1905-1935)

*****

A poster for the historical drama

*****

13th (2016)

13th is a documentary film which premiered in 2016. It is about the history of the criminal justice system in the US, more specifically it is about the history of the prison system in the US. Nowadays this is often described as the prison-industrial complex in order to point out the close connection between politicians and private corporations.

The title of the film refers to the 13th amendment to the US constitution which abolishes slavery in the US, “except as a punishment for crime.”

This means slavery is abolished, but at the same time it is introduced again. In other words: the US is the land of freedom, unless you are a convicted criminal. In that case you may well be treated as a slave, and it will be completely legal.

Here is some basic information about this film:

** Director: Ava DuVernay
** Language: English
** Run time: ca. 100 minutes

Several persons are interviewed in the film. They include academic experts, politicians, and activists who have worked on this topic. I will not mention all names, because the complete list is too long. Here are some of the names (listed in alphabetical order):

** Michelle Alexander – author of The New Jim Crow (first published 2010, new edition 2020)

** Cory Booker – US Senator, Democrat, New Jersey

** Gina Clayton – attorney at law, founder of the Essie Justice Group

** William Jelani Cobb – Professor of Journalism, Columbia University

** Angela Davis – Professor Emerita, UC Santa Cruz

** David Dinkins – former mayor of New York, Democrat

** Henry Louis Gates, Jr. – Professor of History, Harvard University

** John Hagan – Professor of Sociology and Law, Northwestern University

** Van Jones - author

** James Kilgore – author of Understanding Mass Incarceration (2015)

** Khalil G. Muhammed – Professor of History and Public Policy, Harvard University

** Charles B. Rangel – Congressman, Democrat, New York 13th district

** Kyung-Ji Kate Rhee – activist

** Bryan Stevenson – attorney at law, co-founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (1989) and author of Just Mercy (2014) – the historical drama Just Mercy which premiered in 2019 is based on this book

Between the talking heads there are old photos and old clips to illustrate the topic at hand.

The film opens with some vital statistical information:

** The US has ca. five per cent of the world’s population

** The US has ca. 25 per cent of the world’s prisoners

This means the US has the largest prison population in the world and it has the highest rate of incarceration in the world.

The growing number of prisoners in the US during the last fifty years is listed on the screen from time to time:

1970 = 357,292

1980 = 513,900

1985 = 759,100

1990 = 1,179,200

2000 = 2,015,300

2014 = 2,306,200

Several important aspects of the prison-industrial complex are discussed in the film. Here are some examples:

** The rule which says: three strikes and you’re out!

** The rule which demands Minimum Mandatory Sentences

** The law which is called: Stand Your Ground

** Prisons built and run for profit by private corporations

** The powerful network ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) where politicians and private corporations work together to promote their interests via the prison-industrial complex

** The tradition which says: No trial, just a plea bargain

What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

82 per cent = IMDb
83 per cent = Meta

91 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the general audience)

97 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the professional critics)

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. They range from good to excellent. I understand the numerous positive reviews. I think they are fully justified. Why?

13th is an important documentary about an important topic. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

If you are interested in the history of the US – in particular the history of human rights in the US – this film is definitely something for you. Watch it! I think it will make a big impression on you.

PS. If you want more information about the criminal justice system in the US, I can recommend The Innocence Files – a documentary series in nine parts which premiered on Netflix in 2020.

*****

 

Ava DuVerney (born 1972)

(A photo from 2015)

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