Film Review: ANTIDOTE
by Karen Pecota

James Jones | United Kingdom | United States | Netherlands | 2024

For several years, filmmaker James Jones has wanted to make a film to show the atrocities and divisive actions of Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, as it is his desire to hold on to power. It’s known that Putin is a killer, but up until now that fact could not be proven. In collaboration with Passion Pictures, Jones makes a valiant effort to expose this concept in his latest documentary ANTIDOTE.

Jones’s documentary reveals the cost of individuals who attempt to do the right thing within a regime who legitimizes doing the wrong thing. Sadly, honoring humanity in a regime that Putin leads is not valued nor is it a virtue.

Jones shares what happens to the men and women who choose to standup for their countrymen and to stand for truth. Jones’s insight and factual evidence of those individuals he features in ANTIDOTE truly fight for a change against a tyrannical regime. Unfortunately, it comes at great personal cost.

Jones follows three individuals: a unnamed chemist; Vladimir Kara-Murza, a political activist; and Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian investigative journalist. All three are currently in opposition to Putin’s regime in plain sight, sharing factual evidence of Putin’s tactics of repression. All three have been confronted with serious consequences.

Jones first follows in real time the unnamed whistleblower’s escape from Russia. He is a chemist from inside Russia’s poison program. Aware that his government lied about the program, the whistleblower secretly contacts Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group. He asks for protection to escape Russia and for good reason. His team of chemist perfected a poison that was to be used on terrorists if the need arose. When the team realized their work was used on fellow patriots he was overwhelmed with guilt. He wanted no part of Putin’s killing machine of those who simply oppose him.

Secondly, Jones shares the update of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent political activist speaking out against Putin and his atrocities. He has been poisoned twice and now stands trial for treason in Russia. Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia, is fighting for his release, as well as his cause. She is in danger of Putin’s revenge.

You might recall the news headlines stating that Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist, author, and businessman, was working with Bellingcat. He had uncovered that a couple other activists had been poisoned by Russian agents during the time they were researching Navalny’s poisoning.

Intertwined in the film’s storytelling, Jones shares a surprising development. Grozev is notified that he is under threat from Putin’s anger after exposing Putin’s murder machine in the case of Alexei Navalny’s poisoning. Now in danger, Grozev is forced to be on the run himself.

Jones correlates ANTIDOTE and his last film CHERNOBYL: THE LOST TAPES (2022). He notes, “The latter is told of an empire collapsing under the weight of its own lies. ANTIDOTE is a contemporary version of the same story.”

Jones says, “I hope this film does justice to the many victims of Vladimir Putin and highlights the extraordinary bravery of those still willing to stand up to him and tell the truth about modern Russia.”