We went to see "Dangerous Acts of Unstable Elements in Belarus" on Saturday, which won Best Documentary for the MSPIFF film festival, among many other awards. And yes, it was that good.
The film follows a free theater troupe from its vaguely hidden house in Minsk to New York and London after artists are denounced and members of the troupe are arrested and sought for arrest after the presidential elections in 2010.
As one troupe member says, "There's a joke in Belarus, where the head of the electoral committee says to Lukashenko 'There's good news and bad news. The good news is; you're president again. The bad news is; no one voted for you…'"
The actors flee the country by various means as the opposition candidate is imprisoned, and they proceed to put on a visceral and inventive show off Broadway that directly discusses the rigged election, the brutal crackdown, and the torture methods used on dissenters like themselves.
Just as they win an Obie, most members return to Belarus to continue operating the free theater while three apply for political asylum from London. The mix of interviews, filming while actors talk to family members in Belarus by Skype, footage of the demonstrations and TV coverage in Minsk, and portions of the plays and rehearsals is very effective and is a great study the power of theater, music, and art to convey what words like "dictatorship" alone cannot.
Showing again at 7ish Tuesday 4/22 as an encore performance at MSPIFF, St Anthony Main theater.
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