Through the informal “Day in Life”, Pavel Pasha, Talnkin, a Russian teacher with a charismatic figure who works as a scheme and a video photographer for all the events of his school, his strange small city: Carapash. It is known as the most toxic place on the face of the earth due to the presence of a copper smelting factory, the average life expected here is 38 years, and cancer affects the population inappropriately. In this malicious place, Pasha built a safe haven with his classroom, which led to the strengthening of friendships and pushing them to explore their creative abilities. Pasha works in the same school where he enrolled and his mother still works as a diligent library secretary. Teaching cannot be more personal for him. Thus, when the strange propaganda actions that President Putin exercises his noble efforts threatens to work.
The first documentary in Sundance was collected entitled “MR.” No one against Putin “, directed by David Bournenstein (attributed to Talnkin as a co -director), tells the story of the annoying militarization of Russian schools in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine. Through the eyes of his brave and cheerful theme, but who who It can be fully associated with (also the actual cinematography), this terrifying, implicit and influential show offers an invisible humanitarian angle about a continuous conflict that is still eaten widely in documentary cinema.
He was issued orders from the Putin government to abandon regular lessons. Teachers now have to read from the approved materials, claiming that Ukraine is run by extremists and that Russia’s enemies are trying to destabilize the country by employing the local population as saboteurs. Outside the school buildings, the pro -war marches raise the same atmosphere of brainwashing as Maga demonstrations in the United States. As a person whose job is already including carrying the camera and photographing everything that happens inside the school, Pasha cooperates with artists outside his homeland and begins filming with the aim of revealing the seizure of education. The teacher speaks directly to the camera, and also records confessions without guarding. He preserves his most depressed ideas for these solitary sessions.
On the other side of the teaching spectrum, there is Pavel Abdel Manouf, a man of the oldest generation who promotes enthusiastically for the curricula approved by the state. In one of his deceptive lessons, Abdel Manouf tells his students that there are protests in the United States to support Russia. Although this promoter in the semester, which is fond of the most cruel Stalin men, may enlarge the facts (as it is required by the other teachers to do), the similarities between the Putin regime and what the American conservatives wish for their country amazing. At any time when the right -wing extremists evokes online or a speaker on news channels the idea that those who do not sanctify the United States are under registration or condition to leave, they are basically using the same discourse that the Russian state uses: the desire to homogeneity through Russia. Violent repression of the opposition. This will definitely cause viewers ’concern in the West, even if film makers are not explicitly cited by similarities.
To continue the shooting, Pasha must suppress his anger and only dare to make small protests – such as the American national anthem that Lady Gaga sang – but these protests are sufficient to raise doubts about it. In their cooperation, the film makers managed to embody the impact of the Kremlin decisions through the lens of the daily Pasha interactions in one school. And when Putin issued a law to judge any person who is considered a “traitor for the motherland” to life imprisonment, the risks involved in the hidden Pasha mission are of concern. The pictures of the leader are spread while making heinous statements everywhere, not only to provide the context, but also to fulfill the document with the title: Putin feels like a direct opponent of Pasha, which is an embodiment of what he fights.
For security reasons, only few details were shared about the teacher’s allies abroad and their participation in preparing the document. The same applies to Pasha’s personal life, there are no friends outside the institution, and no romantic partner appears and no other family members appear. The original story behind his unusual call to help young people, which are never doubt, and why he did not follow a different professional path, unfortunately also absent. Despite the reservation of this subjective image, the vibrant Pasha character comes with a real infection. Pasha talks about his feeling of different children during his growth, which can be explained as a secret about his sexual inclinations – a difficult topic that is still in Russian society. This is intimate as it goes.
However, Pasha’s interactions with the current and former students show its unique position within the academic ecosystem, and the conviction that directs its challenging documentation. For most of these children, it is the most revolutionary power that they have ever faced in a world of fearful ideological indoctrination. Misha, a girl whose brother has been recruited on the front lines, turns from a lively teenager to a bleak teenager, burdened with the possibility inherent in the occurrence of a tragedy. Then there is Vania, the moderate young man who was recruited in the conflict. During the meeting, his closest friend – including Pasha – helps him shave his head. Despite their light attempts, tonight ends with tears and tired farewell. Why does this not happen if the number of Russian soldiers continued to grow while the Putin regime reduces the volume of national losses?
Late the movie, Burnstein is listed by a horrific audio clip of a very dangerous event so that Pasha cannot get a video of it, but it is an integral part of the emotional heavy for his novel. What happens to these students when someone like him is not able to attend? This is a question that filmmaking partners leave without an answer, perhaps because it is very painful so that it cannot be considered. However, the image of the empty semester, which was overflowing with laughter one day, was surrounded by silence that deaf the ears.