In honor of the Academy Awards taking place on Sunday, we’re bringing you a special edition of What’s Good Wednesdays with four of the nominated films we think have important geopolitical messages.
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin.” It’s a must-watch for the many, many Russia nerds that I know subscribe to this newsletter. The nominee for Best Documentary follows a Russian teacher in the small town of Karabash as his school is turned into a military recruitment machine after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Just thinking about how he secretly filmed this and smuggled it out of Russia gives me goosebumps. – Riley
“The Secret Agent.” This Best Picture-nominated film is far from perfect: it’s excessively long, it meanders, and the story doesn’t come together at the end. There’s even a bizarre segment about a severed leg attacking gay men cruising in a park. Yet it does highlight some of the conditions Brazilians faced amid a brutal military dictatorship, and the challenges they contended with as they simultaneously sought to undermine the authorities while hiding their views from the public. If you think “cancel culture” is a real issue in democracies today, this isn’t nothing on what Brazilians faced. Even so, if you want a compelling film that covers the Brazilian dictatorship, better to watch the 2024 drama, “I’m Still Here.” – Zac
“The Alabama Solution.” For years, the United States has had the highest prison population in the world. Even individual states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama incarcerate more people on a per capita basis than most countries. “The Alabama Solution,” which is up for Best Documentary, offers a window into the conditions of the prison system. It’s also shot from a perspective we rarely see in the media or films about incarceration: the prisoners' own. Smuggled cell phone footage from inside prisons form part of a six-year investigation that estimates over 1,300 were killed in Alabama’s correctional facilities between 2019 and 2024 – a death toll filmmakers said points to a severe undercount by the state. – Natalie J.
