Khodorkovsky
Release Date: November 30, 2011 (NY)
Studio: Kino Lorber Films
Director: Cyril Tuschi
Screenwriter: Cyril Tuschi
Starring: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Pavel Khodorkovsky, Marina Khodorkovskaya
Genre: Documentary
Summary: Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once the richest man in Russia. Today, he’s one of the world’s most famous political prisoners. A story of Shakespearean proportions, The New York Times has reported on Khodorkovsky in both its news and op-ed pages. Joe Nocera (June 4, 2011) writes: “Over the past six months, I’ve written three columns about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Russian oligarch who has been in prison since 2003, charged, tried, convicted – and recently reconvicted – on transparently bogus tax and embezzlement charges… His real crime, after all, was challenging Vladimir Putin, the Russian strongman. More importantly, Khodorkovsky’s fate stands as a powerful illustration of Russia’s biggest problem: the contempt the country’s corrupt rulers have for the rule of law.” Fascinating interviews with Khodorkovsky (sometimes sitting in a glass box in the courtroom), members of his family, and others portray a country transformed from its moribund Communist past to one in which power-hungry politicians are abetted by a corrupt, drunken and cynical younger generation. Stark black and white animated sequences help tell an amazing back-story that plays like a political thriller.
