Navalny (2022)
August 18, 2023 1:12 PM - Subscribe
In August 2020, Alexei Navalny, leader of the opposition in Russia, barely survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent, and is medically evacuated from the country at the insistence of his wife. During his months-long recovery in Germany, he and his team identify and investigate those who tried to kill him, and he returns to Russia in January 2021.
About the Film
Navalny is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Canadian Daniel Roher. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and events related to his poisoning. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films. The film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also won the Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.
The film tells about the events related to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the subsequent investigation into the poisoning. On August 20, 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, falling ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, and was hospitalized in serious condition. Navalny was taken to a hospital in Omsk after an emergency landing there, and put in a coma. Two days later, he was evacuated to the Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany. The use of the nerve agent was confirmed by five Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) certified laboratories. Navalny blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for his poisoning, while the Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement.
The film shows how Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev and Maria Pevchikh, the head investigator for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, reveal the details of a plot that indicates the involvement of Putin.
The director described the film as "the story of one man and his struggle with an authoritarian regime".
Trivia
In a 2023 interview with GoldDerby, Daniel Roher spoke about a critical moment captured in the film where one of Alexei Navalny's alleged poisoners seems to admit involvement over the phone: "I don't speak a word of Russian, so when we were shooting that scene I didn't really understand the intricacies of what was being said. But just reading the temperature in the room, reading the facial expressions, we understood, despite our language skills, or lack of skills, we knew exactly what was happening. We knew that something explosive was being recorded. I remember filming and Maria Pevchikh's jaw, this is Navalny's chief investigator, she's depicted in the scene. Her jaw unhinges and hits the floor, and in that moment I just remember thinking to myself, 'Just keep shooting. Just keep shooting. Just. Keep. Shooting.'"
During the film's making, its team referred to it under the working title "Untitled LP9". Producers said that alluded to a nickname they've seen Russia's security agency use for Novichok: "Love Potion No. 9".
Quotes
Alexei Navalny: Please let it be another movie. Movie number 2. Let's make a thriller out of this movie and in the case that I would be killed let's make a boring movie of memory.
Member of the large crowd of Russians Navalny is speaking to: What do you think of the wars in Ukraine and Syria?
Alexei Navalny: [to the crowd] Do you want to pay for war?
Crowd: [shouting in unison] NO!
Alexei Navalny: I will end war.
Alexei Navalny: [on the phone to one of the men who tried to poison him] I'm Alexei Navalny. You tried to kill me by poisoning me with Novichok. What is your problem with me, specifically?
Would-be assassin: [disconnects call]
About the Film
Navalny is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Canadian Daniel Roher. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and events related to his poisoning. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films. The film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also won the Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.
The film tells about the events related to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the subsequent investigation into the poisoning. On August 20, 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, falling ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, and was hospitalized in serious condition. Navalny was taken to a hospital in Omsk after an emergency landing there, and put in a coma. Two days later, he was evacuated to the Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany. The use of the nerve agent was confirmed by five Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) certified laboratories. Navalny blamed Russian president Vladimir Putin for his poisoning, while the Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement.
The film shows how Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev and Maria Pevchikh, the head investigator for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, reveal the details of a plot that indicates the involvement of Putin.
The director described the film as "the story of one man and his struggle with an authoritarian regime".
Trivia
In a 2023 interview with GoldDerby, Daniel Roher spoke about a critical moment captured in the film where one of Alexei Navalny's alleged poisoners seems to admit involvement over the phone: "I don't speak a word of Russian, so when we were shooting that scene I didn't really understand the intricacies of what was being said. But just reading the temperature in the room, reading the facial expressions, we understood, despite our language skills, or lack of skills, we knew exactly what was happening. We knew that something explosive was being recorded. I remember filming and Maria Pevchikh's jaw, this is Navalny's chief investigator, she's depicted in the scene. Her jaw unhinges and hits the floor, and in that moment I just remember thinking to myself, 'Just keep shooting. Just keep shooting. Just. Keep. Shooting.'"
During the film's making, its team referred to it under the working title "Untitled LP9". Producers said that alluded to a nickname they've seen Russia's security agency use for Novichok: "Love Potion No. 9".
Quotes
Alexei Navalny: Please let it be another movie. Movie number 2. Let's make a thriller out of this movie and in the case that I would be killed let's make a boring movie of memory.
Member of the large crowd of Russians Navalny is speaking to: What do you think of the wars in Ukraine and Syria?
Alexei Navalny: [to the crowd] Do you want to pay for war?
Crowd: [shouting in unison] NO!
Alexei Navalny: I will end war.
Alexei Navalny: [on the phone to one of the men who tried to poison him] I'm Alexei Navalny. You tried to kill me by poisoning me with Novichok. What is your problem with me, specifically?
Would-be assassin: [disconnects call]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
I have my concerns about Navalny's nationalist, anti-immigration leanings, but I think there's no denying his courage and determination. He's a remarkable man with leadership ability to burn.
His Wikipedia entry's account of the mistreatment he is suffering in prison terrifies me, and I so much hope that he survives and is freed. He could do so much for his country, and he would certainly be an immense improvement over Putin if he had half a chance to get elected.
posted by orange swan at 8:09 AM on August 20, 2023 [1 favorite]