Some Kind of Liberating Effect

Interesting documentary on the Academic Study of Religion during and after the Soviet Union, with a stimulating perspective on how religion and its study could be perceived at first as an act of rebellion to the system and then as a limitation to the individual freedom. Very fascinating and intriguing theme, gracefully narrated with poetical glimpses. The topic gets unveiled through the voices of several scholars from different countries of the ex Soviet Union, each one of them tells a personal story and approach.

Recommended for all those interested in religious studies and its social-cultural implications.

A very interesting documentary on an understimated and less known subject, that is absolutely relevant in understanding our contemporary history from a fresh and different perspective.

The documentary is also clearly the result of a wide historical research and a strong networking activity in the european academic world, and would benefit from the production of an extended version, in order to broaden its distribution and help it reach a wider public.

A must see if you are interested in both contemporary history and in religious studies - or in only one of the two. You will not be disappointed.

For viewers who appreciate unresolved narratives concerning religion, science, and the history of democracy, this film delivers -especially through the images on a TV screen showing burned buildings in Kyiv, a scene appearing mid-film, which adds a layer of connection to what's most dramatically happening now. The documentary refrains from a simplistic or celebratory view of newfound freedom. "Some Kind of Liberating Effect" is an emotionally rich collection of interviews with scholars of religion which moves from personal stories to a wider sociopolitical examination of post-communist Europe. It further develops and even hides its ideas by including a fictional element from dark fairy tales.

(Mariola Wilczak)