Block by block, Adam Curtis’ astonishing history uses archival footage to build a narrative of societal collapse, political opportunism, corruption and identity crisis in the USSR’s final hour. Curtis mines the mundane footage that most TV producers would fast-forward through, sharing English lessons at a beauty pageant, a young waif begging for rubles in the streets, the unrelenting churn of a toothbrush factory and scientists, wrapped in plastic and tape, trying to fix the Chernobyl reactor after meltdown. In lesser hands, the collage might seem random or diffuse.
Similar titles
Reviews
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.