Icarus

Yes, this doc won the Oscar for the "real reel" category, and I'm not saying it isn't good. It is. The story is absorbing and convincing; you get a real sense that the Russians, from the top on down, have been up to no good for a long time. But...I have a suspicion that the award was awarded as much for the fact that this film makes a strong case for the evils of Vladimir Putin--which, apart from being factual, has become dogma for "resistance" types, especially deep left-wing Hollywood types--as for the actual quality of the film-making. Also, one seemingly important question was left unanswered: just why the hell did director Bryan Fogel get involved with this doping stuff in the first place? It seems like that was the focus of the effort in the first place, but that gets buried once the skull and dagger stuff starts about a third of the way into the film. There's something weird about it. Not necessarily something discrediting; just weird. So the cat gives this a qualified PURR, because it's certainly a film worth watching; I'm just not sure exactly what to make of it.