A One Mann’s Movies review of “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”. (2025, 4*, 15).
One of the BBC’s ‘Storyville’ strands of international documentaries, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” is the winner of the BAFTA for Best Documentary and one of the nominated Oscar Documentaries for this year. It’s a fascinating study into the workings of propaganda in a Fascist state… and so should be a ‘must watch’ for all viewers of GB-News and Fox News!
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Pavel Talankin has a job as a videographer at a school in Karabash in the Ural Mountains: “one of the most toxic places in the world” thanks to the local Cobalt mines. As the war in Ukraine kicks off, Pavel records the changing face of education in Russia as young minds are indoctrinated.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This has not been rated by the BBFC but I think it would probably be a 12A due to some strong language.)
Talent:
Starring: Pavel Talankin.
Directed by: David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin.
Written by: David Borenstein.
Running Time: 1h 30m.
Summary:
Positives:
- A fascinating glimpse into life in a Russian school during normal times and an insight into how a dictatorship tries to mould the minds of its young people in times of war.
- Tension as Pavel seriously pushes his luck.
Negatives:
- I wanted a little more of an epilogue after the film ended about how the footage was assembled and what – if anything – happened to his mother and school colleagues.
Full Review:
How to push your luck.
With the news three years ago that Alexei Navalny (as featured in the fabulous documentary “Navalny” was finally ‘iced’ by Putin’s regime, you know that sticking your head above the Russian parapet is a dangerous game. And so there is a good deal of tension involved in this documentary as we see Pavel Talankin – who is either a very brave or a very stupid man, depending on your take – make increasingly vocal and physical taunts against the government’s invasion of Ukraine.
As the school videographer (who knew that was even a job?!) Pavel is forced to gather video evidence that teachers are correctly interpreting the government’s draconian dictates on what children should be doing in school. This starts with a militaristic marching of the Russian flag in the hallway every morning and carries on with propagandist lessons about why Ukraine is nasty, Nazi and evil and why good old Mother Russia will come out on top.
Verbal and Physical rebellion.
Even in these early lessons, we see Pavel muttering dangerous things to the school pupils. “She is being forced to say all of these things” he openly announces to them about the teacher about to teach. But there is no doubting his passion for his mission: “Love for your country means saying ‘we have a problem'”, he says.
As time passes, he becomes even more overt in his actions. He openly displays the pro-democracy flag in his office; at the morning flag marching he puts Lady Gaga singing “God Bless America” at full volume; he takes down the Russian flag on the roof and leaves it lying on the ground and he rips down the “Z” (pro-Russian-forces) signs in all the school windows and replaces them with “X”s (the pro-Ukranian symbols).
All of this is visible to the school authorities, including the party-faithful-teacher Viktor Abakumov, and all of the townsfolk. And there is a semblance of police monitoring towards the end of the film. But you have to assume that he is only getting away with this because it is a small town of 10,000 people where ‘everybody knows everybody’ and there is a sense of loyalty to him that has stopped him being ‘dobbed in’ to state- or country-wide authorities. Else it would surely be ‘off to the Gulag’ with him.
The young victims of war.
As war develops, the militarisation of the school curriculum becomes more and more extreme. Lessons are help on firearms. Whereas in our UK schools we might have ‘throw the bean bag’ contests, here they have ‘throw the grenade’ contests. The vicious mercenary Wagner Group come to give lectures at the school. And of course, conscription then comes in.
The film is sad in showing just what a family atmosphere the school, and particularly Pavel, has with its graduates and the impact as some of the young men are sent off to fight (and die) in Ukraine. There are very sad scenes of distraught youngsters, barely out of school, saying their goodbyes to their friends and family and subsequently of their funerals. And the tension and joy-draining nature of having a brother on the front line is seen on the face of one of Pavel’s female student friends over the years.
Life through a lens.
The film is fascinating in showing life in a Russian school during ‘normal’ times, with young teens doing the same sort of things that young teens do all over the world: having dances, having fun, making films. But the change that happens in wartime is stark as the camera focuses on young faces hearing propaganda nonsense and, at one point, having to spout scripted answers to the teacher’s loaded questions.
Viktor Abakumov, a hawk-faced teacher and party loyalist, idolises Stalin’s enforcers and shows an rabid enthusiasm for his lessons compared to his colleagues. During an awards ceremony for ‘Best Teacher of the Year’, where the prize is a new apartment, it’s clear Viktor is the expected winner, yet he remains oblivious to the predetermined outcome. After receiving the accolade, he naively believes that he is loved and respected by his peers, despite their true feelings. You couldn’t make it up.
But what happened next?
Whilst this is a compelling documentary, I was kind of curious to have some more backstory about how he was greeted by his BBC contacts on leaving the country; what his living conditions and status have become in the West; and how the film was subsequently put together.
I was also concerned about the impact of publishing the film on people left back in the town. His mother never seems to show an awful lot of support for his rebellious efforts, but she was very much aware of them. Has she been punished in any way? And some shots show other school teachers supportive comments of Pavel’s opinions. Has there been any consequences for them?
Summary Thoughts:
This is both a fascinating and terrifying film in showing the attempted indoctrination of young people by a dictatorial regime. It led me to wonder just what sort of curriculum changes are taking place in US schools at the moment under the auspices of the Tango Mussolini?
Where to watch?
At the moment, the film is available to stream for free in the UK on BBC iPlayer. It is also available to rent on streaming platforms including on Prime Video.
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwTELjS59t0.
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