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| Courtesy of HBO Films |
PUSSY RIOT - A PUNK PRAYER
2013, 89 minutes
Not Rated
Review by Joshua Handler
Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer is an incredibly entertaining, yet important and smart documentary about a group of Russian feminists who protest Putin's reelection by playing their political and feminist punk music in public in visible places. Eventually, though, they are arrested for playing in a sacred church.
This film is, first and foremost, extremely entertaining to watch because of the uniqueness of its subjects and subject matter. Russian feminist punk protesters is not the subject of your average documentary. Watching them in action is incredible. These young women have no fear and endless amounts of energy and watching them protest in their own interesting way is nothing short of inspiring.
The way that these women are portrayed in the film is fascinating. While there is plenty of footage of them, we get to know them through others, particularly their families. Through these interviews, we learn of their backgrounds and how their families react to their protests. This method allows us to connect to the women, but still keeps us at a certain distance from them. We only see the Pussy Riot members playing music or sitting and/or speaking in court, thus only showing us one side of them directly from the source. Because the women are behind bars, they were unable to be interviewed. Additionally, much credit should be given to the directors for interviewing the other side, something most documentaries leave out. This makes for a better-balanced documentary.
Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer is an important documentary because it shows the truth behind Vladimir Putin's government. While "democratic", there is no free speech and expression. This is a truth that many turn a blind eye to. As the documentary points out, there are some aspects of Russian politics that haven't changed from the Soviet era.
As fascinating as the content of Pussy Riot is, it could have used some better production values and original storytelling techniques. Much of the film looks as if it was created on iMovie and is simply too rough for its own good. In addition, the film utilizes generic storytelling techniques and while this doesn't detract much, it still prevents this film from being transcendent.
Overall, Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer is a solid documentary that tells a truly different story. While it is nothing original in terms of craft or storytelling techniques, it is still a compelling documentary about yet another issue not covered in detail in America.
3.5/4
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