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Russia, United Kingdom · 2013
1h 30m
Director Maxim Pozdorovkin
Starring Mariya Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Andrey Tolokonnikov
Genre Documentary, Music
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After a controversial election in 2011, Vladimir Putin was reinstalled as president of Russia. Among the citizens who challenged his legitimacy was a group of radical feminist punk rockers known as Pussy Riot. They dared to sing “Mother Mary, Banish Putin!” in Moscow’s most venerated cathedral. Now they are victims of a farcical legal trial.
Helmers Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin... don’t quite get to the issues behind the trio’s infamous performance at the historic Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow last year, but the young women’s vulnerability and defiance make for stirring viewing.
Pussy Riot: A Punk’s Prayer is about an interesting topic, but the film itself is not quite up to snuff.
The Hollywood Reporter by Justin Lowe
Despite some shortcomings, Pussy Riot remains a significant contribution to the ongoing dialogue assessing the current state of Russian society and culture, as well as the sometimes tenuous status of free speech in the free world.
The Playlist by Kevin Jagernauth
Although the documentary excels at giving us a better picture of the women who are inspiring folks around the world to voice support for them, Lerner and Pozdorovkin leave many other details unexplored.
Los Angeles Times by Mark Olsen
Even if you may not be putting a Pussy Riot song on your next playlist, there is something so of-the-moment and exciting about the group that Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer feels important, if not fully complete.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
This documentary by Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin argues that Pussy Riot suffered an old-fashioned Soviet show trial, and what emerges is the effrontery and hypocrisy of Putin's attempt to associate these three young women with the Bolsheviks' suppression of religion.
While sympathetic to their plight, the directors prove alert to the story’s wider impact, speaking to proud parents and outraged opponents alike.
Village Voice by Stephanie Zacharek
The women of Pussy Riot have an idea of what the new Russia should sound like; Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer shows just how hard it is to make that new world audible.
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