Citizen X

Bodies are found in a wood in the Soviet Union, and the forensic doctor leading the investigation has to work inside a system that does not officially recognise the idea of a serial killer. The case goes nowhere for years. The film gets its tension from the bureaucracy rather than the killer: every step needs permission, every report waits with someone above. The narrative presents the system itself as the obstacle. Chris Gerolmo directed, with Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland and Max von Sydow. It follows a real investigation and was made for television. A real warning: the subject is the murder of children and some detail is described plainly. It is not graphic to look at; what is described is hard.