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Poster for Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Seen it?

2025 | 90 min | Documentary

Friday Night Flickearly rating

Why it’s a Friday Night Flick

Critics loved it (100% on Rotten Tomatoes), it won an Oscar and it's still drawing plenty of interest. Make plans for this one.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for the curious. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
The mood
Eye-opening.
The pace
Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 30 min.
What might put you off
  • It's in Danish, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
  • Audiences were cooler on it than critics.

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.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsVery strong

    100% on Rotten Tomatoes, 80 on Metacritic

  • AudiencesSolid

    7.3 out of 10

  • AwardsStrong

    Won 1 Oscar: Academy Awards: Best Documentary Feature. Won 1 BAFTA: British Academy Film Awards: Best Documentary. Plus 3 other awards.

  • Reach & staying powerWeak

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far

  • Buzz & cultural impactStrong

    About 612K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by David Borenstein

  • Pavel TalankinSelf
  • Vladimir PutinSelf (archive footage)
  • Roman AbalinSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Lavrentiy BeriaSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Viktor AbakumovSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Leon TrotskySelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Dmitry MedvedevSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Vladimir Kara-MurzaSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)