The Other Side (2024) User Reviews

Interesting but average

[sebastianmalburg · 6/10 · 20 March 2024]

I disagree with the other comments that state this is purely propaganda. The purpose of this documentary is not to justify the war. I believe it offers a perspective on how Russians rationalize the war to themselves. It also shows that people fighting on either side of a war are also just humans.

That being said, I recognize that their statements often went unchallenged, which makes the conversations a lot less interesting. I can understand the journalist didn't want to escalate the situations, which is likely why he didn't press further.

I also think that there weren't too many particularly exciting or jaw dropping moments. The trailer already contains most meaningful scenes.

Nonetheless, it gives interesting insight into the other side of the war, which has scarcely been shown in mainstream media.

The Other Side still overall portrayed as the Dark Side

[PiotrxxxDenmark · 6/10 · 4 March 2024]

This documentary reveals to some extend the situation for the separatists in Donbas - and it actually gives some nuance to the motives that Russia had for the 2014 intervention and the special military operation/invasion in 2022. It touches on the NATO-enlargement, which is a historical fact that is usually ignored in the West ... and it reports the Kiev-governments bombings on the separatist territory since 2014; bombings and killings we never hear of in the West.

On several occasions the interviewing/journalism in depth is rather poor; Lanagan is often more interested in the russian aggressions in Ukraine than the Kiev-governments aggressions i Donbas. He never pursuits the story of a population that the coup/revolution in 2014 ignored and damned as russian agents while attacking and subordinating them. All this is well documented, but Lanagans curiosity isn't really there. In that perspective, he might as well could have stayed home in safe London.

Lanagan also gets a possibility to investigate the other side of the Bucha story - which was called a genocide by the Kiev-government and by western powers (until they realised that massacres/warcrimes was a mere realistic accusation), but he avoid this by proposing that it's not safe to talk about ... and then clinging on to the western narrative. That is not quality journalism, but epistemological information control according to Lanagan's ideological narrative.

The best in this documentary is the depiction of the frontlines, Lanagan visits - and some political diversity (which Lanagan notoriously calls 'cracks') amongst the Donbas fighters. Lanagan touches briefly on this, but he's not reflecting on the historical view he's offered from 'the other side' ... and most notably he is not interested in the reasons for the civil uprise in eastern Ukraine after the coup in Kiev, 2014. Why, I don't know ... but it could be caused by his western cultivation which urges him to believe and enforce that 'the other side' mostly is dark. Whatever, this projection/prejudgment/bias is surely not helpful for the quality of this documentary. But I recommend everyone to watch it; it is far better and more informative than most of the western input.

Pretty good documentary!

[mark-97587 · 8/10 · 22 March 2024]

You can see the other reviews going crazy like children because it's not pro Ukrainian enough. It's called "The Other Side" for a reason. Like the Irish man said on sky news "it's HELL" he don't want to return back. This is hardly a propaganda pice, I would love for a single one of these reviewers to go live with the Russian army and ask repeatedly obvious questions that will get them killed. If you want put your head in the sand go watch mainstream media it's full of that. This on the other hand paints the Russians as HUMANs and some people don't like that. Yes there could have been more interesting questions asked with some evidence but don't know how well that would have went behind enemy lines alone. Overall pretty good documentary just wished there were more frontline action. If your pro Ukrainian propaganda there is other documentaries out there for ya but to call this a pro Russian documentary is purely crazy and you're not giving the people that risked their lives for this any credit. Well done boys!

Unmitigated russian propaganda dressed as journalism

[taipan_gc · 1/10 · 19 March 2024]

This attempt at a documentary offers the worst of russian soldiers to paint themselves in a positive light while they commit war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. The film maker fist pumping to urge them on is testament to the level of journalistic integrity conducted by this man. The open and free member this man worships these war criminals is embarrassing for any true journalist.

A russian soldier is freely unchallenged when he states "we are not monsters" - a soldier from a command that conducted the well documented horrors in Bucha and Lyman two locations where the worst known atrocities have occurred.

Fundamentally poor as a documentary.

Morally devoid in its intent.

Film is a Paid Joke Which Will Meet Its Fate

[Redeemerz61666 · 20 March 2024]

This mess of a film is unwatchable. Errant organization means it's all over the place and shot by what appears to be teens on Mountain Dew. Seems like propaganda would have a more convincing push and at least would be interesting to watch, but no.

Paid in roubles?

And, not even mentioning it is participating in genocide as defined by the United Nations and judicials at the Hague.

Putin will be arrested anywhere he travels now (even by countries who never agree on anything but this) for a reason.

"Filmmakers" should be tried and WILL be taken to task. Your self-awareness is about to become acute. Good luck!

Finally people can see the truth

[veniat-90468 · 10/10 · 20 March 2024]

This is a brilliant documentary. People can see and hear the truth about the situation in ukraine and reasons for invasion. In this documentary you will see things that pro-ukrainian and pro-western propaganda is censoring, things that mainstream media are trying to hide. You will see that the eastern and southern ukraine doesn't support zelenskiy and people are pro -russian. You will see and hear what happened in 2014 and how it started and what led to the invasion in 2022. Generally, it's always right thing to do to listen both sides to gather as much information as you can so you can make your own opinion. Great job from the filmmakers who were risking their lives !

This is just trash

[alexbitzu · 1/10 · 19 March 2024]

This so called documentary is just trash Russian propaganda aimed to whitewash the genocidal invasion of Ukraine.

Basically every reason given by the Russians to justify their actions (like the NATO enlargement theme) have been debunked over and over again. Even Russians themselves boast that their goal is to fully conquer Ukraine and create a replica of Belarus. If NATO enlargement were actually a reason for the invasion, Putin would have protested against Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

Do yourself a favour and watch "20 Days in Mariupol" and judge for yourself if the atrocities committed by the russian army in Ukraine are justified in any way.

This is pure propaganda

[dr-zapp · 1/10 · 20 March 2024]

There is not an ounce of journalistic integrity in this documentary. Sean appears to be an unabashed Russian fanboi. When soldiers make blatantly false statements, there is no push back or effort to fact check. Isn't that the whole point of a documentary? To find the truth? There is also no attempt at putting the subject matter in the context of the thousands of war crimes the people being documented have committed. The crimes of Bucha have been well documented, yet when a soldier says it is all a lie, there is no challenge from the interviewer. This deserves 0 stars, and all involved to be labeled as Russian operatives.

Blatant russian propaganda. This could have been written by the Kremlin

[throwaway-70583 · 1/10 · 30 March 2024]

This documentary is supposed to show the "other side" of a genocidal war. If you go in with the knowlegde that massacres like Butscha, which has been confirmed to have happened by 3 independent investigations (UN, Amnesty and NYT), have happened; that Russia is shelling civilians and that their troops are actively targeting civilians you will be thoroughly disappointed.

Mr. Langan interviews a Wagner member about Butscha, who mentions that the Russian army retreated orderly from the town and the above mentioned massacre is a western lie. He does not tell the viewer about the investigations and the fact that there is drone footage of the russian army targeting civilians.

When interviewing other russian soldiers, Mr. Langan also does not ask questions you'd expect a journalist to ask, such as: "What is your opnion on you invading a foreign country?". Instead, his priority liies within asking if how they feel at the current moment, the answer to which, given that they are in warzone, should be obvious.

He tries to garner sympathy with the invading genocidal russian forces. That can be seen in this documentary too. Instead of remaining neutral, which usually involves carrying a press-specific shrapnel vest (usually blue, black but generally not camouflaged) with a big "PRESS" on the fron and the back, he instead gets a russian vest, with camouflage. Over the course of the film, you get to see a russian flag appear. Another point is him high-fiving russian troops.

Overall, this is a sorry excuse for a film and waste of time. I never had the hunch that the movie wanted to tell the story from the russian side, but rather create a "but both sides are bad" whataboutism to legitimize the russian invasion.

In my opnion, this movie should be taken down from all streaming sites and Mr. Langan should be ashamed of himself. It feels to me as if he'd been alives during World War 2, he'd have gone to Nazi-Germany and interviewed the guards at Auschwitz to ask them if the task of murdering hundreds of people is mentally tasking or if they enjoy it.

There is no other side. There is only good, and russian

[cspratlin-82156 · 1/10 · 29 March 2024]

Standard both sides bait from self important western journalists. This is the same sort of guy that would have done a documentary on the German Army circa 1939-1945.

One cannot both sides a war when one party, that being the russians, intentionally, ruthlessly, and illegally initiated the largest conflict in Europe in nearly a century. Every russian involved in this war is guilty of war crimes, of massacres against civilians. Of sexual assaults against men, women, and children. Of an attempted genocide, all in the name of a modern day fascist who wants to rebuild to the glory days of the russian empire.

All the fault of this war lays at the feet of the russian people, and no one else.