Our New President

Alternately amuses, shocks and enrages, revealing concerted Russian propaganda efforts, backed by Vladimir Putin's state-controlled media, that range from the comically paranoid to the scarily sophisticated.

Our New President merely scratches the surface, and in its own weird way, comes to embody the plague of shallow spectacle it purports to fight against.

A heady lesson in how fake news really works - and how far back it stretches.

An impressively assembled work, edited with brio by Pozdorovkin and Matvey Kulakov.

With no central voice guiding it, it feels aimless, not sure whether it is a horror movie or a comedy. Sometimes it feels like a hard hitting look at Russian media and other times it feels like some absurd parody that we should be laughing at.

It's a scattergun approach that all adds up to compelling evidence of an orchestrated campaign led from the very top.

It's ironic that a film damning the use of propaganda is blatantly propaganda itself, as Pozdorovkin lacks the confidence to let the various clips speak for themselves, using obtrusive techniques to spell out the eerie nature of his footage.

In general, the tone is playful and satirical, making use of a quick montage that adapts to the information frenzy and the desire for immediacy that we are currently experiencing. [Full review in Spanish]

Pandering to the new McCarthyism of the pseudoleft with dollops of Evil Putin porn only clouds the film's gonzo entertainment value, revealing its dangerous blind spots and ideological bent.

A portrait of a nation determined to keep its citizens gossiping about foreign politics so they won't question what's happening in their own government.

Our New President paints a harrowing picture of what it must be like as a citizen dictated by a vain billionaire who has taken away almost all journalistic outlets besides RT and YouTube, which he has filled with trolls.

However impressive the collection, there's little beyond shock value in watching Russians on vlogs and TV shows praising Trump.