Most of the films that we see about the Russia-Ukraine War focus on the people in Ukraine. I’ve seen documentaries and narrative films dealing with life in the war and refugees from the war. But what’s happening in Russia while this is going on? Mr. Nobody Against Putin, from David Borestein and Pavel Talankin, takes us to a small city in the Urals to discover what that war means to the children in school there. Mr. Nobody Against Putin was recognized with the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival.
Pavel Talankin was a young, unconventional teacher at the elementary school in Karabash. It is the same school he attended as a child. Always a bit of an outsider, his office is a safe place for those who feel out of place. He serves as the school’s event coordinator and videographer, recording the day to day happenings. He loved his job. And then the war started.
Almost immediately, instructions came down requiring daily patriotic exercises. Pavel was given the task to record these as evidence the school was complying. Pavel opposed the war, and saw the way the schools were being used as a propaganda machine as repellent. At first, his thought was to quit but he then decided to do the recordings and find a way to share them with the world. That is when he got in touch with David Borestein, who also contacted the BBC for safety protocols for such a project.
For two years, Pavel records the increasingly chauvinistic and militaristic environment of the school. At one point, Pavel asks the history and social science teacher (who oversees this programming) about some of his heroes. His response is some of Stalin’s most notorious henchmen. For him, a return to such a world is exactly what Russia needs.
At the same time, some former students are reaching the age of being called up into the army. Some go away, never to return. Pavel continues to do little acts of protest, but soon Russia passes anti-treason laws. The things Pavel is doing could put him in jail for life.
While we may look at this as a terrifying abuse of Russian power, we may also want to think about our own educational system and ways it is being manipulated—through the banning of books, eliminating diversity programs, and some of the things the administration has suggested it wants schools to be like.
This, of course, isn’t new. I attended school at the height of the Cold War, and patriotism and readiness (especially physical readiness so that youth would be ready to be drafted) was a key part of the school day. Militarism was lionized in society and culture—including the movies that were released at the time. As I look back, I know there was plenty of propaganda pushed at my generation.
It’s not unreasonable for schools to instill a sense of patriotism as part of education. But it should also give students the tools to be critical so that it does not become a blind patriotism which can be manipulated by those in power.
I should note that this film would be an interesting double feature partner with 2000 Meters to Andriivka, which also won an award at Sundance. You can read my review of that film here.
Photos courtesy of Made in Copenhagen.
