NZIFF Film Review: "Navalny" (2022).

"Poison always leaves a trail". This is Navalny. This documentary film directed by Daniel Roher. This eye-opening documentary chronicles the investigation into the shockingly brazen assassination attempt of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny – and his ongoing fight for democratic reform.

Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist, Alexei Anatolievich Navalny, has organised anti-government demonstrations and run for office to advocate reforms against president Vladimir Putin and his tyrannical government, as well as rampant corruption in Russia. Navalny was a Russian Opposition Coordination Council member. He is the leader of the Russia of the Future party and founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). He is recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, and was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work on human rights. With more than six million YouTube subscribers through his social media channels, Navalny and his team have published material about corruption in Russia, organised political demonstrations and promoted his campaigns. Navalny and the FBK have published investigations detailing alleged corruption by high-ranking Russian officials and their associates. In July 2013, Navalny wrongfully received a suspended sentence for embezzlement. Despite this, he was allowed to run in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election and came in second, with 27% of the vote, outperforming expectations but losing to incumbent mayor Sergey Sobyanin, a Putin puppet. In December 2014, Navalny received another unjust suspended sentence for embezzlement. Both of his criminal cases were widely considered to be politically motivated and intended to bar him from running in future elections. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) later ruled that the cases violated Navalny's right to a fair trial, but the sentences were never overturned. In December 2016, Navalny launched his presidential campaign for the 2018 presidential election but was barred by Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) after registering due to his prior criminal conviction; the Russian Supreme Court subsequently rejected his appeal. In 2017, the documentary He Is Not Dimon to You was released, accusing Dmitry Medvedev of corruption, leading to mass protests. In 2018, Navalny initiated Smart Voting, a tactical voting strategy intended to consolidate the votes of those who oppose United Russia, to the party of seats in elections. In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalised in serious condition after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. He was medically evacuated to Berlin and discharged a month later. Navalny accused Putin of being responsible for his poisoning, and an investigation implicated agents from the Federal Security Service. In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia and was immediately detained on accusations of violating parole conditions while he was in Germany which were imposed as a result of his 2014 conviction. Following his arrest and the release of the documentary Putin's Palace, which accused Putin of corruption, mass protests were held across Russia. In February, his suspended sentence was replaced with a unjustified prison sentence of over two and half years' detention. In March 2022, Navalny was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court in a new trial described as a sham by Amnesty International; his appeal was rejected and in June, he was transferred to a high-security prison.

In January 2021, filming began shortly after Navalny came out of a coma and went on until his arrest in the same month: according to the main character of the film, the film crew was next to him even at the border control at the airport. 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. In mid January 2022, the project was first announced. Ironically, Roher originally planned to make a film about one of the investigations of Christo Grozev. Roher described the film as "the story of one man and his struggle with an authoritarian regime".

If the film has you endlessly searching throughout the internet for more documentaries and videos about Russia's white knight, this offers a more traditional political biography, with a more traditional running-time. Featuring new interviews with Navalny's family and associates, this gripping documentary charts the rise of the Russian government's most feared opposition. Rarely seen footage and photographs in the film offer a bold tribute to Putin's most feared opponent. The film will hold up as a respectful, enthralling and engaging look at the man who was simply Russia's white knight. The terrifyingly tenacious Navalny effectively leads the story and takes centre stage, which is probably right considering how central he was to the outfit. A little more investigative journalism would have given this documentary a more well-rounded variety of perspectives. Ultimately though, the politics and life of Navalny is the real attraction for this movie. One of the most entertaining tales of the quest for justice in recent memory, a quality that is likely to land it on a host of top film lists (mine included). It's a bracing journey filled with wonderful anecdotes and splendid footage, and it is, emphatically, Navalny telling his story, from his perspective. It has great footage, interesting talking heads, and freighted music. It feels sentimental and bittersweet, with Navalny coming across as a thoughtful, respectful, vaguely professorial figure. Like similar political docs, the film relies heavily on archival footage, familiar photographs and news broadcasts. Yet, the beauty of Rohr's documentary is how engagingly he arranges it. The film is a moving tale and an important piece of political history, but it's in the pure dedication of such moments that Navalny is best remembered. In most ways, the film is a conventional political doc, a heroic and valorizing chronicle of a opposition leader's life and political career. Navalny is one man that deserves the deep dive. The film would appear to be a final attempt by Navalny to clear his name and tell his side of the story, but this is ultimately Navalny's quest for justice in Russia, and as such, it is moving, tragic, and yet also celebratory and joyous.

Simon says Navalny receives:

Also, see my reviews for Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band.