NAVALNY

Oscar winning doc shines light in Russia’s darkest corners.

Russia is a scary place. But the bigger question asked by this fascinating Academy Award winning documentary is: is Russia all that different from the rest of the world? This is a story of absolute power, absolute corruption and the media that loves – and lies for – them. It hits way too close to home.

It’s remarkable how well documented this moment in world politics has been by this film crew. The action kicks off months before Alexei Navalny’s doomed poisoning and wraps up just as he’s being arrested by the Kremlin upon his return home after coalescing in Germany. Like in the airport. Scary stuff.

It was supremely beneficial to see these events replayed in an efficient chronological narrative as for me the specifics were lost in the shuffle of 2020’s world turned upside down news cycles. Navalny’s investigation into his own poisoning concludes with his on camera phone interrogation of the men involved. I can’t recall another political documentary that’s caused me to literally hold my breath in suspense. Pardon my French but Mr. Navalny has balls. Big ones. Elephant sized ones.

This is an important film. Both as a light shining on the injustice of Navalny’s imprisonment as well as a cautionary tale. If you think, “it can’t happen here” this film proves that in many ways, it already is.