Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Khodorkovsky

Cyril Tuschi's “Khodorkovsky” follows the multiple trials and tribulations of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once Russia's richest man before he pissed off Putin by challenging him in public and, subsequently and unsurprisingly, found himself shuttled off to a prison in the middle of nowhere on trumped up charges. Tuschi casts his net wide, seguing from news footage of international leaders' reactions (including Putin's) to Khodorkovsky's arrest, to animation reenacting his being taken into custody on his private jet, to scenic footage from the filmmaker's own travels to find the story. But since none of the bigwigs involved want to talk to the German director, Tuschi ends up only interviewing the notorious oligarch's family members, Komsomol colleagues from Khodorkovsky's youth, early business partners—even his former dean! In other words, too many talking heads of little substance fill the screen, providing about as much insider information as one of Bernie Madoff's grade school chums.

To read the rest of my review visit Slant Magazine.

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