The incredible story of an ordinary Russian teacher who exposed Putin's propaganda machine.
Overview
As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.0/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.68/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 78
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
David Borenstein
Production
Made in Copenhagen, Pink Productions, ZDF, BBC Storyville
Cast
Pavel Talankin, Vladimir Putin, Roman Abalin, Lavrentiy Beria, Viktor Abakumov, Leon Trotsky, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Kara-Murza
Where to watch
Kino Film Collection
Curator Review
Verdict
A tense, intimate anti-propaganda documentary that turns a Russian classroom into a frontline of state control. Its strength is the human-scale access: a teacher’s quiet courage, the banality of indoctrination, and the creeping moral cost of staying inside the system.
Best for
viewers interested in contemporary geopolitics and the Russia-Ukraine war
fans of intimate, character-driven documentaries
audiences drawn to films about propaganda, education, and authoritarianism
people who appreciate urgent, morally serious nonfiction
Skip if
you want a neutral or detached observational style
you’re looking for a broad historical overview of the war
you avoid politically charged documentaries
you prefer documentaries with a lighter tone or formal experimentation
Overview
Mr. Nobody Against Putin is at its best when it narrows a vast political catastrophe down to one school, one teacher, and one impossible ethical choice. That focus gives the film urgency and emotional clarity: propaganda is no longer an abstract system, but something administered through lesson plans, assemblies, and children’s routines.
Worth noting
The documentary’s power comes from the contrast between Pavel Talankin’s warmth and the increasingly suffocating environment around him. What begins as a portrait of an ordinary educator becomes a record of how authoritarian pressure colonizes daily life, especially when the state treats schools as recruitment and conditioning centers.
Bottom line
It is not a comprehensive war film, and it does not try to be. Instead, it works as an inside view of complicity, fear, and resistance, with enough immediacy to feel dangerous and enough humanity to feel personal. The result is gripping, distressing, and hard to shake.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Joe A · 3567 likes
Some Americans will watch this documentary and think, “Wow, a country where its government is ran by an unhinged dictator that pumps dangerous propaganda into its news cycle, deliberately targets the youth, and silences anyone that attempts to protest? What a terrible place to live!” and never realize the cruel irony.
James (Schaffrillas) (3.5★) · 1125 likes
Just do what you can.
Karl (3.5★) · 1065 likes
I really hope Pavel Talankin will be okay. He took a huge risk making a film that Vladimir Putin would consider treasonous. I can't believe the risks he took. Pavel is a teacher filled with positivity, warmth and a kind of endearing dorky sense of humor. He's an individual in a place where conformity is the norm. We watch as his happy-go-lucky spirit is stripped away. Once the invasion of Ukraine began schools were mandated to follow a strict script… more I really hope Pavel Talankin will be okay. He took a huge risk making a film that Vladimir Putin would consider treasonous. I can't believe the risks he took. Pavel is a teacher filled with positivity, warmth and a kind of endearing dorky sense of humor. He's an individual in a place where conformity is the norm. We watch as his happy-go-lucky spirit is stripped away. Once the invasion of Ukraine began schools were mandated to follow a strict script… more
Marianna Neal 🇺🇦 (1★) · 727 likes
I'm sorry, are we going to pretend that propaganda in Russian schools didn't exist before 2022? Obviously it's even worse now, but the way this documentary romanticizes pre-2022 Russia is wild. Though not as wild as this cheery, snappy, self-satisfied chronicle getting nominated over 2000 Meters to Andriivka. Are the Oscars OK? The Academy are not serious people.
How did the full-scale invasion of Ukraine happen? Out of nowhere? How has putin been in power for over 20 years? Magic??… more
Aria (5★) · 661 likes
“Love for your country means saying ‘we have a problem’.”
2020 · Drama, History · 2h 10m · R · Curator 6.9/10 (630.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
A more dramatized but still relevant look at dissent, state pressure, and political theater.
Topics
political documentary, anti-war, authoritarianism, propaganda, education system, war in Ukraine, human rights, intimate reportage, moral dilemma, contemporary history