MIFF Review - Russian Lessons

IMDB, Wikipedia
Score: 3/5
Language: Russian/Georgian with english Subs

Genre: Documentary
Summary: (from MIFF)

“Dignifies the struggles of powerless people and holds a sobering mirror up to a superpower.” – Sundance Film Festival
A startling work of investigative journalism, Russian Lessons sees its two filmmaker–protagonists, Olga Konskaya and Andrei Nekrasov, report from different posts on the frontline of the 2008 Russian–Georgian war.
Astounding images of atrocities committed by the Russian forces are contrasted with the narrative woven by the nation’s media machine, a campaign of disinformation that by and large was uncritically accepted by the world’s news media.
Unpacking the complex history of the region and delving deeper into the motivations behind the war, Konskaya and Nekrasov uncover the story of a nation willing to cynically manufacture conflicts to suit its own ends.
More information: http://russianlessons.org/

D Andrei Nekrasov, Olga Konskaya P Torstein Grude, Olga Konskaya WS Kudos Family L Russian w/English subtitles TD HDCAM/2010

Comments:

• No introduction into the situation. Seems to assume the watcher is already aware of it.
• shows how the Russian media misrepresented the situation, altering footage or misreporting where it was from to change the facts to those the government (Putin) wanted told
• Western media using said footage as fact without checking validity
• Doco showed the unedited footage, often taken by georgian media and told what it actually showed
• But then how do we know that this is all true and not yet more spin doctoring from another side
• Ethnic cleansing of Georgians that occurred in the 90's