This year’s Oscar nominees for best international feature film include the documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” assembled from footage smuggled out of Russia in 2024 by its creator, Pavel Talankin, a teacher and videographer near Chelyabinsk. With the help of the American documentarian David Borenstein, who edited the material, Talankin has fashioned a portrait of Russian state indoctrination, using as his case study the very school where he taught. Since its premiere at Sundance in 2025, the film has provoked sharply divided reactions, inspiring some viewers while infuriating others. Meduza film critic Anton Dolin examines the difficult questions the documentary raises and explains why it deserves to be seen as an important record of wartime Russia.