Putin's Kiss (2011)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I agree with the other posters who have said that the style of this doc was unnatural and contrived. It didn't have a candid "real life" feel to it; it was like a loosely scripted reality show at times. There were culture shock moments however, like when Masha talked about what book she'd like to burn, and the march was very interesting. The vast membership of Nashi, the aggression behind the group, the funding, and all the details which made it clear that it was a tool for leveraging political control, like a mini FSB was all very intriguing. Overall though this film felt very amateur and it crossed my mind a couple of times that it could be opposition propaganda rather than a legitimate documentary. For a topic of this magnitude they should've had a much larger and more diverse pool of people to interview. With the scope of perspective being so small, the documentary felt more like a school project.

My issues with this film were as follows: - young people acting like idiots (destroying things, beating people up, 'vandalizing' cars, acting out for cameras, joining cult-like groups and leaving them as relationships go hot/cold) is hardly proof of any kind of conspiracy other than young people in Russia are the same as young people everywhere. And that douche-bag men with napoleon complexes will take advantage of them. - the Masha girl whose character arc was the film's arc was completely unbelievable. The tragedy of her is completely common - for a brief time when she was 16-17, she was very attractive. Men treated her well. Because she was a child, she didn't realize that she was being used. (To say she had a position of power in Nashi based on that film is ridiculous, as her power was directly linked to how much the leader wanted her around - that's not real power). As he gets tired of her, she moves on to where she can get that attention from someone else- a group of reporters from the other side (ohhhhh so extreme) (she calls them her friends while they describe her joining their group as great 'social entertainment, to see what will happen'). -She says it herself in her tips of public speaking: 'if you have to give an opinion, believe in it.' (paraphrased) she brainwashes herself to whatever role gets the attention. It's sad for her (although hardly unique). But it also undercuts any believability in this documentary. She's always posing for someone - whether for the leader of Nashi, the danish reporter, the director, or someone else - her 'conversations' are re-enacted and scripted into this role that doesn't seem any more authentic than anything else about her.

To fully appreciate this documentary, you need to have some idea of the political situation in Russia today. Although technically a democratically elected government and wildly popular with the people, it is essentially a dictatorship. That's because police routinely arrest opposition party candidates (only to release them AFTER the election is over) and journalists are murdered--and so, it's actually a one-party system.This film is about one element that works hard to enforce the will of Putin and his friends. The NASHI is a youth organization that is fiercely nationalistic, pro-government and against 'enemies of the state'--though these enemies are either vague or people who simply are the opposition party. And, many elements within the NASHI then take it on themselves to attack these folks--after all, they've been repeatedly been told they are the nation's enemies! Sounds familiar? Of course, its parallels to the Hitler Youth are obvious.Instead of just doing an exposé on NASHI, this film does something very creative. It follows a high officer within NASHI--one of their rising stars. And, through the course of the film you see her gradually begin to question this need to create enemies within Russia. And, she sees friends beaten just for offering civil dissent.This film is very well-constructed, insightful and will most likely cause a strong reaction within the viewer--all hallmarks of an excellent film. Very thought-provoking--never dull. The bottom line is even if you like Putin, you can't possibly see the system as democratic when the government creates a self-serving youth group and encourages them to 'action' (whatever that means).

The documentary unfolds in the last half of the 2000s (decade) and follows a young Russian girls development in the state organised youth organisation Nashi. Starting with full faith in the systems ideas and ideals, she gradually discovers unresolvable issues between her ideals and the actual consequences of the system, this prompts her to take some difficult choices. I like the film a lot because I think it very accurately portraits a shift in youth perception of this period, from unabridged optimism due to the economical rise of Russia with Putin and the democratic thoughts of Medvedev, to a reluctant realism of the re- arrival of a Sovjet like system. Furthermore although documentary in its nature the film has a number of aesthetic pleasing scenes as well as some scenes that very sharply portrait persons and actions. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in an understanding of modern Russia.