The film is about the events related to thepoisoning of Russian opposition leaderAlexei Navalny and the subsequent investigation into the poisoning. On August 20, 2020, Navalny was poisoned with aNovichok nerve agent,[7] falling sick during a flight fromTomsk toMoscow, and was hospitalized in serious condition. Navalny was taken to a hospital inOmsk after an emergency landing there, and put in a coma. Two days later, he was evacuated to theCharité hospital in Berlin, Germany. The use of the nerve agent was confirmed by fiveOrganisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) certified laboratories. Navalny blamed Russian presidentVladimir Putin for his poisoning, while the Kremlin repeatedly denied involvement.[2][8]
The film shows howBellingcat journalistChristo Grozev andMaria Pevchikh, the head investigator for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, reveal the details of a plot that indicates the involvement of Putin.[9]
The director described the film as "the story of one man and his struggle with an authoritarian regime".[10][11]
The project was first announced on January 13, 2021. The film was directed by Canadian documentary filmmakerDaniel Roher, who originally planned to make a film about one of the investigations ofChristo Grozev. Filming began shortly after Navalny came out of a coma and went on until his arrest in January 2021: according to the main character of the film, the film crew was next to him even at the border control at the airport.[12]
It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films in partnership with Fishbowl Films, RaeFilm Studios and Cottage M. The project was produced by Fishbowl Films'Diane Becker andMelanie Miller, Cottage M'sShane Boris, RaeFilm Studios' Odessa Rae, CNN Films'Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton, andMaria Pevchikh.
The film premiered on January 25, 2022, at theSundance Film Festival as the final title in the U.S. Documentary Competition section, where it won the Festival Favorite Award and the Audience Award for the U.S. Documentary Competition.[13] In March 2022,Warner Bros. Pictures acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and set it for an April 11, and April 12, 2022, release.[14]
The film premiered on April 24, 2022, onCNN in the US, as well as on the streaming platformCNN+.[15][16] Then after the closure of CNN+, the film moved toHBO Max on May 26, 2022.[17]
It was shown onBBC2 on April 25, 2022, and on February 16, 2024, the day of Navalny's death.[18]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 97% of 103 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Navalny is a documentary that's as gripping as any thriller – but the real-life fight against authoritarianism that it details is deadly serious."[19]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[20]
Guardian critic Phil Harrison awarded it 5/5 stars calling it "one of the most jaw-dropping things you'll ever witness", and "this terrifying documentary enters the realms of the far-fetched spy thriller – and yet it's all true".[21]New York Times film critic Ben Kenigsberg added the film to the "Critic's List" and also praised it saying "Roher has assembled a tense and absorbing look at Navalny and his inner circle".[22]
^Генеральный директор ОЗХО Фернандо Ариас Гонсалес (November 30, 2020)."OPENING STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL TO THE CONFERENCE OF THE STATES PARTIES AT ITS TWENTY-FIFTH SESSION"(PDF).ОЗХО.28. In September, the Secretariat conducted a technical assistance visit in response to a request from Germany under subparagraph 38(e) of Article VIII of the Convention. During the visit, a team of experts from the Secretariat collected biomedical samples directly from Mr Navalny for analysis by OPCW designated laboratories. The results of the analysis confirmed that a toxic chemical of theNovichok family was found in Mr Navalny's blood.
