“I feel responsible for what my country does,” said Anna Politkovskaya in footage brilliantly captured by Marina Goldovskaya, and that statement tells us, in a nutshell, who this incredible woman was. Despite popular belief, she was not a soldier, an “iron lady,” or a martyr; she was an ordinary woman who was exposed to an extraordinary reality, and she knew she could not keep it to herself.
A Bitter Taste of Freedom follows Politkovskaya’s life, with footage spanning from the early years of her marriage up to the building of her career as an investigative journalist revealing the tragic truths of the Chechen war. Her courage and fearlessness came at a price, though, and at age 48, she was assassinated. She left behind her two children and her first grandchild, also named Anna, who was born only 5 months after her assassination.
Interwoven throughout the film is footage of war-ridden civilians in Chechnya—mostly women—mourning and crying over the bodies of their family members. The heartbreaking reality becomes strikingly clear: these people’s stories and troubles have been ignored and, without Politkovskaya, they would have remained so. She had a duty to these people that was bigger than fear; as one of her friends says, “She kept coming there because she felt needed.”
Goldovskaya’s film is not only a tribute to Anna Politkovskaya, but also serves as a messenger that carries on the work she did, which is still unknown to many people around the world. The film proves that Politkovskaya was not silenced with her death; her work was far too important, and hopefully her courage will inspire others to keep reporting the truth and taking a stand for peace.
What Goldovskaya captures beautifully is Politkovskaya’s spirit and passion. People who criticized her writing for being too emotional, I think, will be shamed when they see this film. She was a genuine, glowing presence, responding to a vocation she did not ask for but could not turn away from, reporting courageously on what most journalists would never dare to touch.
What we learn through this film is that Anna Politkovskaya, a woman who saw and reported on countless deaths and the vileness that exists in human beings, was a woman full of life. Her passion for life, I believe, is what drove her to fight for it. A Bitter Taste of Freedom, in taking us through her journey, pays homage to that which Politkovskaya fought and died for: truth, peace, and freedom.
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A Bitter Taste of Freedom will be screened at the IFC center in New York, August 19th- August 25th. Visit their facebook page for upcoming screenings, as well as links to the trailer and interviews with Marina Goldovskaya.
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