Watch this documentary. In the beginning of the film, the viewer is lulled to think that it's just an experiment of the documentarist, Bryan Fogle, to see how much better doping will make him, and to investigate if he can cheat the doping testing system. In his quest, the sympathetic Russian anti-doping lab director, Grigori Rodschenkov, gives him detailed instructions on how to administer the performance-enhancing drugs, and most importantly, how they will cheat the doping testing.
Things take an unexpected turn, when during the period of filming, a German TV-channel publishes a documentary in which they blame Russia for having a state-run doping program, Grigori being at its head. The viewer is sent on a ride towards the deep bowels of Russian doping activities. Icarus is an incredibly well constructed story with distinct parts to help make for a clear and enjoyable viewing experience. What really made this movie 10/10 for me was relying on the George Orwell novel '1984' to set the entire story into a broader narrative. Both protagonists, Bryan and Grigori, are very natural and relatable, and the viewer can follow their friendship develop throughout the film.
What struck me most was the seemingly overwhelming amount of evidence for the existence of a Russian doping system, both as accounted by Grigori, and as confirmed by the so-called "McLaren Report". I was impressed by how well Bryan and the rest of the production crew had adapted to an an unanticipated challenge, which was to capture the full the extent of doping in Russia, as well as protecting Grigori from harm.
I thought that this film would be just some anti-Russia propaganda, but the evidence seems to support all of the allegations in the film. The main take-away isn't that Russians are bad, but that the entire anti-doping system is thoroughly flawed. WADA, and the IOC will not be happy when they see this.
Things take an unexpected turn, when during the period of filming, a German TV-channel publishes a documentary in which they blame Russia for having a state-run doping program, Grigori being at its head. The viewer is sent on a ride towards the deep bowels of Russian doping activities. Icarus is an incredibly well constructed story with distinct parts to help make for a clear and enjoyable viewing experience. What really made this movie 10/10 for me was relying on the George Orwell novel '1984' to set the entire story into a broader narrative. Both protagonists, Bryan and Grigori, are very natural and relatable, and the viewer can follow their friendship develop throughout the film.
What struck me most was the seemingly overwhelming amount of evidence for the existence of a Russian doping system, both as accounted by Grigori, and as confirmed by the so-called "McLaren Report". I was impressed by how well Bryan and the rest of the production crew had adapted to an an unanticipated challenge, which was to capture the full the extent of doping in Russia, as well as protecting Grigori from harm.
I thought that this film would be just some anti-Russia propaganda, but the evidence seems to support all of the allegations in the film. The main take-away isn't that Russians are bad, but that the entire anti-doping system is thoroughly flawed. WADA, and the IOC will not be happy when they see this.