Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer follows three members of the Russian feminist art collective Pussy Riot as they stand trial for “disrupting social order by an act of hooliganism”. Nadia, Masha and Katya were arrested in February 2012 after a balaclava clad performance of their ‘punk prayer’ on the alter of Moscow’s Christ The Saviour Cathedral. Despite being cut short by security officers, the group managed to enrage authorities, distress the devout Orthodox community and gain global notoriety.
The three women are young, idealistic and to some extent naive, but could hardly have anticipated the huge impact they would have nor the harsh punishment they would face. The court proceedings have been likened to Stalin’s show trials. The documentary effectively portrays the broader cultural background of the events, without giving a history lesson. It also gives a human face to the protest movement and points out the undeniable hypocrisy and rigidity of Putin’s government and Russia’s justice system. Anecdotes and reflections from their parents add an intimacy to the portraits of the women. The strength of friendship and solidarity within the group also comes across and the filmmakers capture moments of warmth and humour from the first amateurish rehearsals through to the final appeal.
Nadia, Masha and Katya are courageous throughout and their final statements to the court offer intelligent political sentiments far more eloquent than the messy performance that put them there. Nadia and Katya were sentenced to two years in a ‘penal colony’ while Masha has been released and remains an active member of Pussy Riot. Pussy Riot’s plight attracted global media attention and incited fierce protestation from the international community. The documentary offers an immersive and compelling look at the value and importance of protest in the face of overwhelming authoritarianism.
