Doc 10 2025 – Antidote
Sometimes, when you watch a documentary, you can’t help but wonder, “How did this get made?” That’s one of the internal questions I had while watching “Antidote”, which follows three risk-taking whistleblowers and activists facing grave consequences for their courageous efforts to expose the murderous and repressive regime of Vladimir Putin. Emmy-winning British director James Jones gets immersive access to the lives of those fighting against an authoritarian system, offering great insight and a look at true heroism. The film premiered last June at the Tribeca Film Festival and has been picked up by Frontline for a May 6th release here in the States. But before that, you can catch it here in Chicago at the Doc 10 Film Festival.
The poster for the film provides an apt dictionary definition that’s appropriate to the subject matter – Antidote: (noun) an agent to counteract the effects of a poison.
The three agents in “Antidote” are Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, and an unnamed scientist (digitally altered here to protect his identity) who participated in Russia’s poison-making program, all of whom have become targeted for exposing Putin’s Russia, which is the poison. When the scientist discovered the poison he’s been involved in making has been used to murder Putin’s enemies, he became a whistleblower. Jones covers how Grozev wound up publishing the scientist’s testimonies and does his best to help his family flee Russia. Animated sequences are utilized to help show the escape sequence as well as other movements that weren’t captured on camera.
During much of the filming (2019-2023), Kara-Murza, who was allegedly poisoned by Putin’s mercenaries twice and then tried for treason, was imprisoned, so Jones spends a good amount of time with his wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza. His family’s plight provides many emotional moments in “Antidote”, which is already filled with so many frustrating revelations. Grozev remains at the center of the story being told, and Jones follows him as he travels to different locations in Europe and North America to get to the bottom of Putin’s poisoning scheme. It’s not the most compelling aspect of the film, considering it’s purely investigative work, with editor Rupert Houseman and composer Uno Helmersson doing what they can to infuse a clear sense of drama and intensity in these scenes.
Jones includes two others that offer additional perspectives with different personalities, Grozev’s Russian journalist colleague, Roman Dobrokhotov, and another Russian journalist, Fidelius Schmid, both of whom share a disdain for Putin’s tactics. Russian dissident Alexei Navalny – the subject of the 2022 Oscar-winning documentary “Navalny” that Grozev actually appeared in – is mentioned briefly here, which is fitting considering his poisoning in 2020 was probably the most widely covered and that he died last year in Western Siberian prison.
Jones takes an approach to the material that feels like an amalgam of a propulsive political thriller and a gripping true crime series. Considering he’s recently made some hard-hitting films, like 2022’s HBO documentary “Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes” and 2023’s AppleTV+ documentary “Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn”, this approach tracks. It makes for an overall compelling viewing experience as “Antidote” covers the risks that come with when such devoted conviction is challenged.
RATING: ***
screening on Friday, 5/02 at 5:45 pm (CST) at Davis Theater – followed by Q&A with subject Christo Grozev, moderated by D.C. Bureau Chief, Mother Jones)
