Pokazatelnyy Protsess: Istoriya Pussy Riot (Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer) (2013, Dirs. Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin, Russia/UK) (Cert: 18/TBC) ***

 

Starring: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Mariya Alyokhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich

 

In February 2012, shortly after the controversial return to power for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a feminist and secular punk rock outfit and political activist group known as Pussy Riot performed a song satirising religion and the government in Moscow’s Cathedral Of Christ The Saviour. The performance was quickly stopped and three of the band members (Mariya Alyokhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova) were eventually arrested and put on trial for disturbing the peace. This documentary tells the story of the band, their performances and the trial that grabbed international headlines.

 

In a period of less than eighteen months, the protests of Pussy Riot went from being front page news to the subject of this documentary and whilst that means that it provides a fresh snapshot of  an event in the contemporary world, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer lacks some of the depth and detail that can come from a historical perspective. The film does involve itself in some background to set up the case. We do get the backstories of the three women on trial and we also see the historical context as to why so many Russians are fiercely pro-religion, given the state-enforced atheism that ruthlessly pursued und the Bolsheviks. However, the film’s lack of length belies that it may have been put out in the interest of freshness speed rather than to provide any major insight. This film raises a contentious issue that separates old and young, religious and secular, political left and political right and whilst it does seem to veer a little towards favouring Pussy Riot (it certainly comes across as anti-Putin) the film does at times almost portray its supposed heroines as smug and facetious, slightly levelling the playing field. It’s an interesting look into modern Russian society and the role of civil liberties, but still feels somewhat half-finished as a documentary.