a review of

ok, this is complex. first, unequivocally, fuck russia and their never ending murderous imperialism. second, this is also propaganda. i don't think it's pretending not to be, but i think the average viewer (not very educated on world events or on propaganda) won't notice. i think it's propaganda in the sense that it is literally impossible for humans to be unbiased, and this human admits multiple times during the "documentary" that he is quite biased. i think it's interesting (?) and verging on disingenuous to make a "documentary" condemning propaganda, but to do so in a clearly biased way. others may feel differently, but that's my take. third, this cannot decide whether it is a documentary about horrific policies of the murderous russian government, or whether it's a "documentary" (read: narrative) about the effects of war on a general population. it certainly doesn't need to be one or the other, but a documentary has to be really well edited to pull something like that off, and this one...is not. fourth, kind of a continuation of third (above)...the film spends too much time focusing on the views and opinions of the cinematographer slash director. fifth. absolutely heroic efforts to gather all this footage. it does appear that he films some of this more from a place of naivety or ignorance rather than bravery, but what truly matters is the spirit that motivated him to film it. if we had more people like this, the world would be a better place. i am glad he made it out of russia alive and hope he lives a fulfilling and easeful life.