Review of Mr. Nobody Against Putin Rating *****
I try my best to steer away from politics in my reviews. But in this case, it is impossible. That’s because this film is about politics, specifically how propaganda has infiltrated Russian society. The film is in Russian with subtitles, but don’t let that stop you from watching it.
Pavel Talankin is the school videographer, given the task of videotaping school events. When Russia invades Ukraine, the school is required to push patriotic messaging to students. Pavel is told to document these efforts and upload the videos to a government site to assure that they are complying with government guidelines. Not wanting to take part in Putin’s propaganda, he resigns his position. However, shortly after resigning, he gets an opportunity to document what is going on to be used later in a documentary. So, he rescinds his resignation and continues to film. The end result is an inside look at what can happen when one person, in this case Putin, aided by his latchkeys in government, can completely control the narrative fed to an entire population.
After watching this film, I don’t believe that Putin has any interest in ending the war in Ukraine. He is grooming an entire population of young people to give up their lives for the motherland. Putin does not care how many young Russians are killed. He will send a thousand soldiers to be killed on the front lines for one foot of gained territory.
The entire media ecosystem in Russia is controlled by the government. Dissenting voices are stamped out, imprisoned, or in many cases – killed. There are some places in the world where people can be imprisoned for decades for simply posting something negative about the leader. Young people in North Korea are being executed for simply watching banned videos like K-pop.
Here in the U.S. we are lucky to have a democracy that allows for opposing views. I can post that Donald Trump is moron as much as I want without fear of retribution, except from his patriotic followers. Here in Texas, our Governor, Greg Abott, wants to penalize schools who allow their students to protest. Yet in the same breath, he wants every school in the state to have a Turning Point USA chapter to promote Republican values. Book bans, voter suppression, school vouchers, DEI bans, and more are all efforts of our government to exert control.
President Trump has done almost nothing except go after his perceived enemies, try to pass voter suppression laws, and wreck the economy. And now he has started a war in the Mideast, which will soon spiral out of control.
This documentary is one of five to be nominated for a best documentary Oscar. I’ve reviewed two of the other nominated films on this site: The Perfect Neighbor and The Alabama Solution. All three are worth your time. They each tell important stories. The Oscar nomination for this documentary means that a lot more people will see it. Maybe people will understand the perils of nations that take a similar path.
This story also shows what one person can accomplish. I’m sure that the film is already banned in Russia, but people will still see it. The truth will be revealed. Don’t be a puppet. Be like Pavel.