MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Release of the thriller film Child 44 has been blocked as inadmissible in Russia ahead of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, the Culture Ministry said on Wednesday.
The movie is set in the Soviet Union during Joseph Stalin's rule and tells the story of a secret agent investigating a series of brutal murders of 44 children.
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Its April 16 release was canceled by Russian film distribution and production company Central Partnership, forcing movie theatres across the country to change schedules.
The production was directed by Sweden’s Daniel Espinosa, starring Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman.
Presentation to the media on April 14 raised questions "regarding the film's contents, first of all, distortion of historical facts and strange interpretations of events that happened before, during and after the Great Patriotic War [of 1941-1945]," the ministry said.
Central Partnership told TASS the final decision to cancel its release was made after public discussion. The company said "government control over socially important movies should be tightened in future".