A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Reviews of films from Russia and from the Soviet period (1917 – 1991) including all films made during that time in countries that are now independent.
Andrei Zvyagintsev, “Loveless” (2017) As with previous films of Andrei Zvyagintsev that I’ve seen, “Loveless” is as much a criticism of modern Russian society and what…
British Films, Russian and Soviet Films
John Pilger, “Secret World of the US Election: Julian Assange Talks to John Pilger” (RT.com, October 2016) One famous Australian journalist talking to another famous Australian…
Middle Eastern Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Channel 24 (Russia) Interview with First Lady of Syria Asma al Assad (18 October 2016) In contrast to so many female politicians and spouses of world leaders, the wife of…
Sergei Eisenstein, “Battleship Potemkin” (1925) Although this film was made over 90 years ago and is a silent black-and-white work, it still stands up well against…
Alexander Korobko, “Through Sherlock’s Eyes: The Case of Alexander Litvinenko” (2015) Not only does this 23-minute documentary present an intriguing scenario of the death of the Russian spy…
Alexei Popogrebsky, “How I Ended This Summer / Kak ya provel etim letom” (2010) Out of a very threadbare and unbelievable plot, Alexei Popogrebsky manages to…
Arabic-language Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Russian Media Interview with President Bashar al Assad (16 September 2015) Syrian President Bashar al Assad granted a rare interview to representatives from various Russian media outlets including…
British Films, Russian and Soviet Films
George Galloway and Gayatri Pertiwi, “Sputnik: Orbiting the World with George Galloway (Episode 86)” (RT.com, August 2015) Perhaps the best thing that former UK Labour Party leader…
Yana Erlashova, Vitaly Biryukov, “MH17: A Year Without the Truth” (RT Documentary, 2014) On 17 July 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17, carrying nearly 300 people, was shot…
Multi-media Presentations, Russian and Soviet Films
Kirill Kleymenov and Maria Sittel, “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” (RT.com, 16 April 2015) Every year since he has been President of Russia, and also when…