Mr. Nobody Against Putin
{{Short description|2025 documentary film}}
{{Infobox film
| image = Mr. Nobody Against Putin Poster.jpg
| caption = Sundance release poster
| director = {{Plainlist|
- David Borenstein
- Pavel Talankin
}}
| writer = David Borenstein
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Helle Faber
- Radovan Síbrt
- Alžběta Karásková
- Petra Dobešová
}}
| cinematography = Pavel Talankin
| editing = {{Plainlist|
- Nicolaj Monberg
- Rebekka Lønqvist
}}
| music = {{Plainlist|
- Michal Rataj
- Jonas Struck
}}
| studio = {{Plainlist|
- Made in Copehnhagen
- Pink Productions
}}
| released = {{Film date|2025|01|25|Sundance Film Festival|ref1={{Cite web |last=Crucchiola |first=Jordan |date=2025-01-25 |title="Mr. Nobody Against Putin" Is a Roadmap for Bravery in the Face of Authoritarianism |url=https://festival.sundance.org/blogs/mr-nobody-against-putin-is-a-roadmap-for-bravery-in-the-face-of-authoritarianism/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Sundance Institute}}}}
| language = Russian
English
}}
Mr. Nobody Against Putin is a 2025 documentary film directed by David Borenstein. It premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award.
Background
Mr. Nobody Against Putin was shot over a period of two years by Pavel "Pasha" Talankin, the videographer and events coordinator at Karabash Primary School #1.{{Cite web |last=Blauvelt |first=Christian |date=2025-01-26 |title='Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Review: A Riveting Look Inside an Increasingly Totalitarian Russia |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/mr-nobody-against-putin-review-1235088408/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=IndieWire}} Talankin began seriously documenting his activities after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the government began requiring schools to hold regular "patriotic displays" and use a state-written curriculum to justify the invasion to students. At the same time, the government instituted a requirement to upload footage of these displays to a state-run portal to prove compliance, allowing Talankin cover to film meetings, lessons, and visitors to the school without attracting suspicion.{{Cite web |last=Schager |first=Nick |date=2025-01-25 |title=One Teacher's Brave Stand Against Putin's Propaganda Machine |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/mr-putin-against-nobody-one-teachers-brave-stand-against-putins-propaganda-machine/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=The Daily Beast}} Talankin initially planned to resign in order to avoid supporting the Russian government, however, after getting in contact with the documentary's producer he withdrew his resignation to keep gathering footage.
Critical reception
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|100|7.2|15|ref=yes|access-date=April 20, 2025}} {{Metacritic film prose|79|7|ref=yes|access-date=February 10, 2025}}
IndieWire published a positive review, giving the film a grade of "A-" and praising the documentary for its undercover footage of life inside Russia. The Guardian was similarly positive and praised Talankin for his bravery in capturing footage.{{Cite web |last=Horton |first=Adrian |date=2025-01-25 |title=Mr Nobody Against Putin review – a teacher fights back in a powerful documentary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/25/mr-nobody-against-putin-review |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=The Guardian}} The Daily Beast and Variety also published positive reviews.{{Cite web |last=Aguilar |first=Carlos |date=2025-01-25 |title='Mr. Nobody Against Putin' Review: A Defiant Teacher Witnesses the Militarization of Russian Schools Amid Ukraine War in Poignant Doc |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/mr-nobody-against-putin-review-sundance-ukraine-1236285132/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Variety}} The A.V. Club was more critical, noting that the film's focus on a single school made it feel limited in scope and that several narrative threads were dropped as the film continued.{{Cite web |last=Oller |first=Jacob |date=2025-01-27 |title=Sundance documentaries tackle gender-affirming care, cancer treatment, and warmongering |url=https://www.avclub.com/sundance-2025-reviews-gen-come-see-me-in-the-good-light-dating-game-move-ya-body-mr-nobody-putin-coexistence |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=The A.V. Club}}
The film received the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-31 |title=2025 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners Announced |url=https://www.sundance.org/blogs/2025-sundance-film-festival-award-winners-announced/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Sundance Institute}}
References
{{Reflist}}