Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Vladimir Putin has reappeared as a public watchdog. The relationship between the rise of his power and the Russian oligarch class is the subject of a new documentaryoligarch wife's secret, but how juicy is the secret?
Oligarch's wife's secret: Stream or skip?
Key points:Exiled oligarchs, journalists, historians and former and current partners of women, as people who lived near the wealth of Russia, and in Putin. To the power to talk about the experience as an observer of the rise.
What does it remind you of? :The documentary is played a bit like a segment of60 minuteswith a head talking to a narrator who guides the audience through the story.
Notable Performance:Oligarch's former partner and distant relative of Leo Tolstoy, Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, has been oligarchy and Putin, based on her long-standing guidance. English to a young Russian who had the most interesting perspective on his life and she was later very close to the country's powers.
Memorable Dialogue:A tragic realization near the end of the movie , Tatiana Fukina expresses sadness about what happened to her country. She said, "I'm proud to be Russia, but not possible at this time."
Gender and skin:Zero.
Our view:When I first heard the titleThe secret of an oligarchy, a reality show that records the double life of a woman located I feel like I'm near the oligarchy — a soapy outing that can affect the real world. But in reality, it was primarily a documentary about Putin vs. Russian oligarchs, spoken through the eyes of the oligarchs' ex-wife and current wife. Based on this, the title may be a bit misleading, but it's still a spectacular explanation of the length that Putin has dominated the country.
Documentaries are not exactly breaking new ground. Especially since the declaration of the war with Ukraine in early February 2022, the world has been at the forefront of the destruction Putin is seeking. But it solidifies the details based on a direct explanation, which somehow makes the whole look strangely more believable. In addition, this documentary provides great historical lessons for those who do not know about Russian history, how former oligarch billionaires installed Putin themselves, and Putin's greatest wish is his legacy. The president who returned "mother Russia" to its original glory.
Oligarch Wives Secretsare packed with interesting facts, but placing these women in the center of the frame doesn't help much. It feels like it's not enough to guarantee the entire documentary about their experience, as only three wives participated in addition to a few other Talking Heads and didn't talk about a particularly groundbreaking experience. .. Many of their claims are what we have seen and heard before, and the breadth of their story does not contain shocking facts (at some point, Putin was mentally the two participants. I think I'm sick, suffering from the hero complex, and can't feel the emotions, which isn't as groundbreaking as the filmmakers think).
Unfortunately, this movie is read as a lesson in history, and the truth is that most of this information can be found elsewhere.
Our phone:Skip it. Documentary promises one thing — secret — and fails to provide in that respect.
Radhika Menon (@ menonrad) is a Los Angeles-based writer who is crazy about television. Her work has been published in Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine and more. At any time, she can ruminate on Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You might call her Rudd.
