Sundance 2004

Disbelief

 (Docu -- U.S.-Russia)

By DENNIS HARVEY

A Dreamscanner Prods. presentation. Produced by Olga Konskala. Executive producer, Andrei Nekrasov. Directed, edited by Andrei Nekrasov.
 

"Disbelief" digs into the mysterious Sept. 9, 1999 night-time bombing of a large Moscow apartment complex, a peacetime outrage swiftly blamed on Chechen terrorists. But as this first nonfiction feature by Andrei Nekrasov ("Lubov and Other Nightmares," "Love Is Strong as Death") shows, the evidence was far from clear. Did the Russian government bomb its own citizens to foster support for waging war on Chechnya? That possibility makes "Disbelief" important viewing -- though helmer dissipates impact by focusing on a protag whose on-camera quest for answers comes off like an attempt to thrust "Silkwood"/"Erin Brockovich"-style dramatics into the docu frame.

An emigre wife, mother and schoolteacher happily settled in Wisconsin, Tanya Morozova returns to Moscow after the disaster, which younger sister Alyona had survived. Latter's boyfriend, however, was killed along with their mother and all the neighbors they'd grown up with. (The fact the bombing occurred in the middle of the night ensured massive casualties -- near 100 fatalities, and more than 200 injured.) Later Tanya, taking her 3-year-old son along -- an odd decision under the circumstances -- returned for an extended personal inquest, camera crew, into the alleged terrorist bombing and its suspect official investigation.

The bombing site had been bulldozed over with curious haste; no forensics evidence was compiled; Chechnya-born locals who "confessed" involvement said they were beaten and tortured into compliance by police. Most damningly, explosives planted soon afterward in another apartment complex (and reported by an alert resident) turned out to have been put there by a Russian secret-service organization.

Original disaster and subsequent finger-pointing inflamed prejudice toward Chechens and other ethnics. This enabled passage of restrictive new laws, and the fast rise of (hitherto little-known) Vladimir Putin as Russian president Boris Yeltin's successor.

But why would outside terrorists target a civilian location, rather than one housing governmental or military figures? One official who'd nosed into the explosion's unanswered issues was later killed in an execution-style ambush. Then Mikhail Trepaskin, crusading lawyer retained by the Morozov sisters, was arrested.

All of this is as fascinating as it is troubling, not least for certain eerie parallels to our own 9/11 attack and its aftermath. Docu is strong when it sticks to news footage and interviews with experts -- latter including a Chechen diplomat, CNN producer and Stateside author David Satter ("Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State"). In five minutes, Satter's speech at a D.C. event provides more facts about the explosion, possible conspiracy cover-up and current Russian governmental corruption than can be found in the rest of the film.

That's in large part because "Disbelief" spends so much time following attractive Tanya on her rounds, tapping friends, family, strangers and the occasional official for their opinions. By the time she pays an extended visit to rural grandparents, pic's attempt to frame the political in the personal has simply meandered away from larger relevancy.

Glossy presentation of the Morozov sisters undercuts seriousness of the issues here, lending "Disbelief" a quasi-narrative tilt that's far less compelling than a more straightforward approach would have been. Re-editing is advised -- wavering focus here may be due in part to production rushed toward Sundance deadline.

Tech elements are acceptably handled.

Camera (color, vid-to-35mm), Alexander Petrovsky; music, Natalia Osternkorn; sound (Dolby SR), Hans Schumann. Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Documentaries), Jan. 16, 2004. Running time: 110 MIN.
(English and Russian dialogue with English subtitles.)