“Eternal Remont writes on a new Russian movie whose “fictional” hero resembles Vladimir Putin a lot: “The film was completed 5 years ago, but there has been speculation that the Kremlin delayed its release until now, weeks before Putin leaves office”.” – GlobalVoicesOnline.com

“Out on DVD for Valentine's Day across Russia is a heartwarming drama about a man and a woman who love each other and their country – and who bear an uncanny resemblance to Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila. Vladimir Putin in “The Kiss is Off the Record”? Just when it seemed like the Russian president's public image had been burnished to a spotless shine by state television, along comes a film that appears to cast the steely former spy in a softer light – as smitten suitor, loving husband and dedicated dad.

While acknowledging “many similarities” with Putin, producer Anatoly Voropayev coyly claims the lead character in “The Kiss is Off the Record” is based on a “collective image”, not the president himself. “We believe that since today we are not ashamed of our leader, why not make heroes who are like him?” Voropayev told The Associated Press. The film appears designed to fill a gap in the hagiography of the popular president by providing an inspirational back story for his rise to the Kremlin. Its nationwide release Thursday on DVD comes 17 days before of the election of his successor, at a time of uncertainty about Putin's future role. “It's a film about the life of a politician, about love, about people in general and the human relationships every person has”, Voropayev told Ekho Moskvy radio last week.

Few people, however, have so much in common with Putin. Like Putin, the main character courts his wife-to-be in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, and moves with her to Cold War East Germany – where Putin was a KGB officer. He then returns home for a stint in St. Petersburg and scales the heights of power in Moscow.

The character, Alexander Alexandrovich Platov, has more hair than Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, but the style is the same. Seen from behind on the promotional poster, the actor playing Platov is a dead ringer for the Russian president. Another giveaway: Platov, like Putin, is always late. Few of the people who packed a special screening at a central Moscow movie house Monday night were in doubt about the subject of the film, which will not be released in cinemas.” – Entertainment.in.msn.com