Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Andrew Wilson Russia to the West is like the last Salem. A mysterious locale where they have heard bad people live and things happen. Its almost that simplisticThis frame of reference gets extrapolated out in the Western Media inciting a rumour and Witch Hunt mentality founded and perpetuated on myth, ignorance and misunderstanding. Anything to do with the Kremlin must be viewed with suspicion.Dissenting viewpoints get shut down by the Neo-Liberal Thought Police, faster than the Dixie Chicks band lost their career after criticising George Bush's bombing of Iraq. (even if history has proved their insights correct..)Vladimir is engaging with insightful, intelligent and well considered opinions and his conversations are disarmingly open and free.As someone who has travelled to Russia and had in depth discussions with many Russians, my frame of reference and fear of the unknown was certainly changed by getting to know these highly educated, worldly and intelligent people.I would love to see Stone follow up with "The Trump Interviews", and if The Donald is one quarter as reasoned and intelligent as Vladimir, he could just make a great President.

ilcool90 Oliver Stone is getting a lot of heat for this mini-series. The reason he gets all that heat is because western critics of president Putin can't live with the fact that the President is finally presented as a human and not as Dr. Evil like the western media usually does. Stone talked about every subject that the west is obsessed with and The President gave clear logic answers. President never badmouthed his western critics. This documentary also shows all the good things that President Putin did for his country and that he does everything with Russia's interests on the Nr. 1 spot. I am pretty sure that many people after watching this series will watch the news networks and talk shows with a huge brick of salt when the subject is going to be Russia and / or President Putin. Stone did a great non partisan job.

MisterHOH Oliver Stone is a good filmmaker. I wish I could say I enjoyed these interviews, but I mostly did not.What I liked is that Oliver Stone understands subtlety and tries to have a cohesive and meaningful dialog above the black and white views and opinions, so heavily polarized in the media today. He's trying to understand the current state of the world as a multitude of multifaceted and complex issues that can't be addressed with just simple answers and demagogy. I respect that.What I really disliked is the fact that talking with Putin about these issues felt like talking with a robot, programmed to deliver the same answers with different words each time. Oliver Stone's questions, however pertinent they were, their answers always fell short, dissimulated, meaningless and mostly boring. His courtesy, joviality, towards Putin, made me a bit uncomfortable and I had to ask myself several times "Does he know with who is he speaking?". I mean, it is pretty clear by now that Putin sure as heck isn't an angel, with many people arguing that he's exactly the opposite with other worrisome adjectives added to his title. Yes, I can understand that he needed to be polite, otherwise he would probably never finish the documentary, but honestly, sometimes it felt like a bromance between the two.Digging a bit deeper in the analysis of the film, I felt it had several missed opportunities to convey a counterpoint or a different narrative using the most important toolkit a director can have, the visual language. Oliver Stone opted for some oblique footage (which are part of his visual style) used infrequently and some horrific footage of executions and other war related events, that apart for their shocking value, bring nothing else to the main story. There are some low angle shots that try to capture some body language from Putin, but I don't think they work very well in this context. I feel bad for criticizing such a great filmmaker, but I really think that there was more potential to create a more compelling story on the screen. One directorial device that I think would have worked better would have been to use the language barrier between the interviewer and the interviewee and rely more on the translator and give him a more important part to play in the dialogue and then emphasize the subtle changes between the translator and the subtitles, creating a small psychological dissonance for the viewer, which in turn would convey the complexity and ambiguous nature of Putin. I think the best example here would have been the director Claude Lanzmann, which heavily relies on spoken language as an integral part of his documentaries, especially considering that his films are also centered on very difficult and unpleasant subjects.Even though I admire Oliver Stone and I understand and respect the importance of what he's trying to do and also the difficulty of such a task, I believe that this film only hit some minor goals, but overall, missed what I consider to be the main mark, which is a genuine attempt at a characterization of Putin, with all the good and the bad that entails. However, dealing with such complex issues, I do recommend that this film should be seen, because these issues will sooner or later affect all of us and there can't possibly be just one right answer, or just one objective conclusion.I think that this film is a solid 7, but not much above that.

Igor Antunov With every subsequent hour, Oliver Stone's questions get more and more contentious. Putin manages to answer every single one (except those bordering on highly classified territory). He does so in detail, and sometimes from different perspectives.This documentary offers revealing insights into the mind of Putin, his words, his body language, his tendency to play with the sofa stitching as he talks. From geopolitical issues, sensitive domestic Russian affairs to Putin's personal life; it's all there.I will state an interesting observation; what rustles Putin's jimmies the most is the topic of NATO encroachment toward Russia's borders, and the US administration's stationing of ABM systems in eastern Europe. The only time during the interviews you can see Putin's expression change to one of barely veiled annoyance is when the conversation veers in this direction.Another thing of note is Putins very academic answers to a variety of topics. Stone asks him about the prominence and rise of the Russian Orthodox Church during his tenure. Putin answers by stating that after the fall of communism and its associated ideology, civil society had nothing else to grasp onto, but the centuries old traditions that the Church provides. Putin says he supported this to give people something to believe in after the traumatic turmoil that was the 90's. To provide stability in their lives. A very practical answer, and it even leads onto more sensitive questions, such as the treatment of homosexuality in Russia. And Putin answers this candidly as as well. Even jokingly sometimes to highlight the absurdity of Russian culture in regards to such topics. This is the theme throughout. There is very little dodging or political wordplay. Most of his answers are formed on the spot, and seem to come from him directly.It is obvious Oliver was charmed during the filming of this. It is apparent Putin humored him on many occasions and that he has a very powerful ability to charm those he talks to. We see a controversial leader (at least from a western perspective) give very direct, apolitical answers to every question that the typical viewer might want to ask such a public figure. In this regard Mr Stone did very well. It becomes patently obvious as to why Russians would express such far ranging support toward Putin. He's very convincing and obsessed with practicalities. But of course; you be the judge. It's a very informative, revealing 4 hours and definitely worth your time.