Starring: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Putin, Leonid Nevzlin
Distributor: Other
Runtime: 126 mins. Reviewed in Mar 2020
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky make not be a name on everybody’s lips (though from the evidence here, it is a name on millions of Russian lips). He was one of the famous Russian oligarchs of the 1990s, perhaps the most successful. He established a bank, developed an energy company, built up a fortune. But, he fell foul of Vladimir Putin, charges brought against him, sentences Siberia for nine years, and then more.
So, why is he the subject of Alex Gibney’s current documentary?
After his release from Siberia, part of the special amnesty extended by Putin at the time of the Olympic Winter games at Sochi in 2014, he was exiled from Russia and is currently based in London – and, something which many of us realise with stories about deaths of significant Russians in the UK, not necessarily a safe place for him. Ackley’s Alex Gibney did an extensive interview with him, quite a sympathetic interview, especially given his stances about contemporary Russia, about Vladimir Putin himself and his continued moves towards dictatorship, establishing an international movement “open Russia”.
Some commentators on the documentary think that Gibney was to favourable towards Cortical ski, acknowledging that many Russians think that he was responsible for the murder of a mayor in the late 1990s who confronted him about the energy company. And, there are the questions of how he made his money during the Yeltsin years – and, even with his years in prison, he is still a very wealthy man, but channelling much of his money into his Open Russia movement.
In his interview in London, he comes across very sympathetically, talking about having the courage of convictions and integrity in going to prison, the effect of the long years in his self-examination, his ambitions to be a better and contributing person.
With a great deal of footage, especially from television news, Gibney builds up the story of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Yeltsin years, the emergence of Putin, the domination of the oligarchs, their being taken down, Yeltsin’s career as president, Prime Minister, Pres and the showcase of the 2018 elections (which she won!).
In fact, this film is also a portrait of Putin, a very critical portrait, with a great number of close-ups, excerpts from speeches, his use of television for self-promotion (the hunting, the bare chest fishing…). In fact, in the opening credits, there is a picture of the key players in this story and it uses the device in many feature films to highlight a significant member of the cast, “… And Vladimir Putin”). He also gets a credit for his rendition of blueberry Hill, not the greatest singer in Russia.
Which means that this is a film of great interest for those looking at the development of society and Russia over the last 30 years, the transition from Communism to Capitalism, with a reference to the behaviour of the oligarchs, cronies, Putin and those who surround him, as “gangster capitalism”.
These characters and events may not be foremost in the consciousness of many of the audience of this film – but, it is an excellent opportunity to experience the characters, reflect on what has happened – and where we are in the world, the Putin world and the East and the trump world and the West.
Peter Malone MSC is an Associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.
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