75
New York Post by V.A. Musetto
More than just the portrait of a naive young woman. It's a frightening look at Putin's warped version of democracy.
Putin's Kiss
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Denmark,
- Russia
- 2011
- · 85m
Director
Lise Birk Pedersen
Cast
Oleg Kashin,
Masha Drokova,
Garry Kasparov,
Dmitry Medvedev,
Boris Nemtsov,
Vladimir Putin
Genre
Documentary
This documentary examines modern Russia through the story of Marsha Drokova, a young woman who became prominent in pro-Putin youth organization Nashi. Using archival footage and interviews, the film shows Drokova's journey from idolizing Putin to questioning her previous beliefs when she befriends liberal journalists facing violent repression.
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What are critics saying?
70
Variety by Leslie Felperin
The picture still tells a riveting story about contempo Russia's darkest side.
67
The A.V. Club
Putin's Kiss maintains a wry distance that unnecessarily trivializes the shocking act that finalizes Drokova's parting of ways with Nashi, but the melancholy of her disillusionment remains. Underneath all this heated discussion of democracy in Russia, it becomes clear, there may not be much actual democracy at work.
67
The A.V. Club by Alison Willmore
Putin's Kiss maintains a wry distance that unnecessarily trivializes the shocking act that finalizes Drokova's parting of ways with Nashi, but the melancholy of her disillusionment remains. Underneath all this heated discussion of democracy in Russia, it becomes clear, there may not be much actual democracy at work.
60
The Hollywood Reporter
This amusing Danish doc aimed at TV audiences portrays Masha as an ambitious, intelligent, right-wing young lady who comes fatefully into contact with a bunch of left-wing journalists and loses her bearings. The overall effect is tragi-comic, even considering the dark events that bring the film to an unexpected dramatic climax.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
This amusing Danish doc aimed at TV audiences portrays Masha as an ambitious, intelligent, right-wing young lady who comes fatefully into contact with a bunch of left-wing journalists and loses her bearings. The overall effect is tragi-comic, even considering the dark events that bring the film to an unexpected dramatic climax.
50
Slant Magazine by Andrew Schenker
Fails to dig too deep into the politics or inner workings of the new right-wing youth movement it profiles, remaining content with simplistic conclusions about pro-Putin thuggery.
50
Chicago Reader by J.R. Jones
Pederson has no smoking gun that connects Nashi to dirty tricks or violence, but there are plenty of both swirling around Moscow.
50
Village Voice
Though Masha's courage is considerable, her change of heart finally feels too nuanced for Pedersen's streamlined political-drama treatment, complete with persistent intrigue music and scenes of Masha restating her dilemma to friends that seem rather canned.
50
Village Voice by Benjamin Mercer
Though Masha's courage is considerable, her change of heart finally feels too nuanced for Pedersen's streamlined political-drama treatment, complete with persistent intrigue music and scenes of Masha restating her dilemma to friends that seem rather canned.
40
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Political menace stalks youthful idealism in Putin's Kiss, a portentous, rather creepy documentary that masks its lack of historical context with an atmosphere of accumulating threat.
40
Time Out by David Fear
Lise Birk Pedersen's documentary offers some compelling peeks into Russia's bureaucratic skulduggery, but her attempt to frame the situation through a young convert's coming of age never really coheres. Innocence was lost; so, apparently, was much of the insightful commentary.
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