'Mr Jones' follows the true story of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who exposed the 1932-33 Ukraine famine
'Mr Jones' is one of the most anticipated films of the year. The Agnieszka Holland-helmed biographical thriller competed at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival and follows Gareth Jones, the Welsh journalist who uncovered the truth about the Holodomor, the manmade famine in Ukraine that resulted in the death of millions. "Holodomor" in Ukraine is a binomial of two words— 'Holod' meaning hunger, while 'Mor' meant extermination. Between 1932-33, Ukraine was a victim of a disaster created by humans. Stalin sucked the reserves and resources of Ukraine in a bid to fund his industrialization plans and cater to the party officials. Jones, an investigative journalist, revealed the drudgery and the mass starvation the country was going through. Jones created a buzz and carved a name for himself for being the first foreign journalist to interview Adolf Hitler in his private plane in 1933.
Following this, Jones then looked into the framework that allowed Stalin to finance his plans to revolutionize and grow the Soviet Union even as the global depression raged. According to DW, Jones contacted Walter Duranty, the New York Times Bureau Chief in Moscow for assistance for reporting, but was declined as he was sure it wouldn't make it past Soviet censors. This saw Jones pull off a stealth mission to Ukraine where he witnessed the famine's ill-effects first-hand. The story was broken in the form of a press release.
A Financial Times report carried the following statement from Jones: "What are the causes of the famine? The main reason for the catastrophe in Russian agriculture is the Soviet policy of collectivisation. The prophecy of Paul Scheffer in 1920–30 that collectivisation of agriculture would be the nemesis of Communism has come absolutely true." While the reportage was hard-hitting and blunt, the western journalists reporting from Moscow, bowing to pressure from the Kremlin, denied the starvation. DW also adds the Holodomor is a controversial topic until date with denials still strong. A 2003 UN statement set the number of deaths at the time between 7 to 10 million. Ukraine recognizes it as a genocide, as do 17 other nations. While Jones's account was denied and even deemed "a scare story" by Duranty, the Financial Times ran a rebuttal piece from Jones that read, "My first evidence was gathered from foreign observers."
"Since Mr Duranty introduces consuls into the discussion, a thing I am loath to do, for they are official representatives of their countries and should not be quoted, may I say that I discussed the Russian situation with between twenty and thirty consuls and diplomatic representatives of various nations and that their evidence supported my point of view," it continued.
"But they are not allowed to express their views in the press and therefore remain silent. Journalists, on the other hand, are allowed to write, but the censorship has turned them into masters of euphemism and understatement. Hence they give "famine" the polite name of 'food shortage' and 'starving to death' is softened down to read as 'widespread mortality from diseases due to malnutrition'. Consuls are not so reticent in private conversation." The film received a thumbs-up from critics. Rotten Tomatoes has an 80% rating with the critics' consensus reading," Flawed yet fundamentally worthy, Mr Jones peers into the past to tell a fact-based story that remains troublingly relevant today."
'Mr Jones' releases June 19 on VoD.