Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (Arthouse Films/ Madman)

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With the two recently freed members of Pussy Riot now on a world tour, performing strange somewhat stilted interviews with ill fitting television programs keen to tap into their cache of cool without really knowing how to engage with them, it might be a good time to reflect upon how they got here.

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer is a documentary, filmed over the course of 6 months, taking in the bail hearing, trial, appeal and subsequent incarceration of members of the feminist punk collective. It begins with an apt quote from Bertolt Brecht, “Art is not a mirror to reflect the world but a hammer with which to shape it.”

What it makes clear is that Pussy Riot’s “small, somewhat absurd act” (member Masha’ words) had far reaching consequences, possible further than they could’ve imagined. The subsequent absurdity of the (show) trial and harsh sentences reinforced the increasing totalitarian nature of Putin’ Russia, where dissent is dealt with harshly – particularly in the case of Pussy Riot who managed to hit the trifecta: raising the ire of Putin, a patriarchal society, the church and highlighting the comfortably incestuous relationship between all three. With the focus of the world’s attention on Russia, and celebrities like Yoko Ono, Peaches and Madonna rallying to their cause, suddenly Pussy Riot had a platform they couldn’t have dreamed of, which is fine, expect three of their members were facing imprisonment of up to five years in a Russian Gulag.

“It’s like throwing a stone into a pond. It creates small waves. One of these waves turns into a tsunami, but you never know which one,” offers Nadia’ father who when alerted to the infamous cathedral performance immediately began trying to talk his daughter out of it before winding up helping out with the lyrics of the chorus, proudly saying that he came up with “It’s God shit.’

Each of the parents are interviewed, offering candid insights into the women growing up, their interest in art, activism and the Spice Girls amongst other odd and unexpected revelations. Katia’ father when he saw them cutting out holes in balaclavas asked if they were planning on robbing a bank. There’s a weary kind of black humor here, of making the best of a band situation, but what we really see is devastation laced with pride that their children are standing up to this oppressive regime, acting on their beliefs and trying to create change. But make no mistake in the faces of their parents we see the consequences of standing up to Putin.

The filmmakers also interview Carriers of the Cross, the orthodox priests who Pussy Riot’s action disrupted. “In the 16th century they would have hanged them, burned them at the stake,” offers one, whilst another calls Nadia a “strong demon” and suggesting the best translation of their name is “deranged vaginas.”

What’s remarkable is the strength of these women and their decision to use the trial as a platform to articulate their beliefs. It’s a strength in their convictions that they’ve maintained throughout their ordeal. It’s why they continue to fearlessly speak out after witnessing the horrible conditions in Russian Gulags. It’s why they submit themselves to appearing on dicky television shows, and its inspiring.

The same day Putin sidestepped the constitution and returned to power is the same day Pussy Riot formed. Their approach was simple: metaphor and art. Masks and musical instruments that anyone can take on. Their approach was short sharp shocking performances in unexpected places, a savage burst of screaming socio political punk rock aggression. Their performances appear throughout the film on shaky grainy VHS, in a beauty salon, at the Red Square, on the roof of building beside a prison, but it was a 40 second punk prayer inside the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow that created the tsunami.

At a time when the worlds attention has turned to Russia and Nadia and Masha have had their punishment annulled in Putin’ frantic attempt to avoid iconic images of “free pussy riot,’ t-shirts revealed under gold medal winners jackets at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer is a sobering reminder that not only does modern day Russia have a long way to go, but that under Putin it has actually regressed.

The film ends however with the sentencing and a defiant Nadia on a close circuit TV holding up a piece of paper between the bars. “I don’ want to be in prison for my beliefs but I have to,” it reads. Almost two years after this moment, on the set of an Irish chat show last week an openly contemptuous Nadia is laboring through host Brendan O’Connor’s inane questions and it quickly becomes clear that despite the hardship, despite all that the Russian criminal justice system has thrown at her, she is still defiant, still determined, perhaps more than ever to shine a light on the inequality and abuses in Putin’s Russia.

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Bob is the features editor of Cyclic Defrost. He is also evil. You should not trust the opinions of evil people.

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