Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer
Dir: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin
2013
****
Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer should be celebrated for its unbiased and well balanced approach. The documentary makers Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin come at the story from the Pussy Riot side but shows all who watch what they're really all about. Pussy Riot are essentially a performance art band with a protest agenda. That's really all they are. The punishment they received was far to harsh for what they did and their imprisonment makes a mockery of the political and judicial system. I think they pushed their luck though with the Church. Their naivety is as obvious as their passion but they've made everyone look now, and so they have to see it through and perform from their cells. And performing is something that comes natural to both Mariya Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova - particularly Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, anyone who disagrees should google Operation Kiss Garbage and Voina - in particular F**k for the heir Puppy Bear! If you want to see some brains behind the passion then you should look at Ekaterina Samutsevich. She's the only one clever enough to have got herself out of prison, realising that rotting in prison won't get the job done. Their argument is valid and their protest is colourful and passionate but for their sake, I hope they recruit some more intelligent people like Ekaterina, maybe then they can really have an impact rather than be flavour of the month in the tabloids.