Citizen K (Alex Gibney, 2019) UK | USA

Reviewed by Gordon Gerbitz, Viewed at AFI Fest 2019.

Citizen K is a must see, brilliantly researched Faustian documentary.  Flashes of Job in the Bible come to mind.  The lord (Putin) givith and the lord (Putin) taketh away.  All while a too powerful oligarch billionaire in Russia named Mikhail Khodorkovsk gets too good at the real-life game of monopoly (post cold-war Russian capitalism version).  Capitalism makes profits off of death but the only grim reaper in Russia is Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (05/2000 – 05/2008, 12/1999 -5/2000).  Khodorkovsk  (Citizen K)  looses his wealth and freedom when Putin feels threatened by K’s  influence peddling inside and outside Russia.  Can K become a better person?  Can he redeem Russia from Putin? The plot line thickens.    Repeatedly, a shot of exiled K on a bridge in London becomes a symbol for the journey to redemption, according to director, Alex Gibney who did make an appearance at AFI Fest Film Festival 2019 in Hollywood, California.
Aerial shots are used extensively in this documentary to symbolize inaccessibility.  Snow also is used to symbolize the coldness of the cold and ruthless power structure in Russia. Amp in dramatic Russian orchestra music with James Bond type music for suspense.  Citizen K  was the first documentary that I saw at AFI Fest Film 2019.  Director Gibney’s  narration, animation,news clips, talking heads to tell the story of the rumble in Russia.  What hapened,  on what time-line and why we should be concerned for Democracy around the world.
Clearly Citizen K  does present a cautionary tale with lessons to be learned in US politics and abroad.  Media manipulation and political maneuverings by Putin show his mastery of political theatre.   How do you win the Presidency with very low opinion poll numbers? Campaign manager Putin shows you the way in this documentary.  One really begins to construct how these techniques could thwart democracies around the world.  This documentary sounds more and more like a cautionary tale for the USA?  You be the judge.   It is a rare view into Putin’s Russia. Watch the documentary and protect your democracy.