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My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile

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Tomatometer 8 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Verified Ratings
A group of young journalists flee Moscow when Russia invades Ukraine and shuts down all independent media, turning telling the truth into a crime. Just days before, they were working as part of a vibrant opposition community. Now they're part of a historic exodus. They leave with a few hours' notice, carry-on suitcases, and no idea what country they can go to next that will let them stay and keep working. They must quickly get back on their feet to report on the biggest story of their lives, a war they all fiercely oppose. Intimate and immersive, the film sweeps across four years and a dozen countries. The complex, razor sharp and often very funny women -- and a few men -- gather in apartments that feel like waystations and borrowed offices before being uprooted yet again. They work to bring Russians an alternative to propaganda, speaking out against their country's war crimes and wrestling with personal moral accountability, even as Russia menaces them with criminal prosecution back home and physical threats abroad. Relying on dark humor to get through dark times, they keep working for the uncertain future of a country they may not return to for decades. As the years pass in exile, they have to redefine what work, family, friendship, love and home mean when you can't go home.

Cast & Crew

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Julia Loktev

Director

Anna Nemzer

Director

Julia Loktev

Producer

Julia Loktev

Cinematographer

Julia Loktev

Film Editor

Michael Taylor

Film Editor

Critics Reviews

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Marshall Shaffer Slant Magazine 2 days ago
3/4
Exile plays less like a journalistic procedural than Last Air in Moscow—which felt like an extension of the shoe-leather journalism practiced by the reporters—and more like a ruminative psychological drama. Go to Full Review Bilge Ebiri New York Magazine/Vulture Sep 8, 2026
I don’t know if Loktev intends to make another follow-up. (Selfishly, I hope she does, because it’s great cinema.) But in some ways, she doesn’t need to — we’ve all become her subjects now. Go to Full Review Tim Grierson Screen International Sep 4, 2026
Funny, resilient and vibrant, Loktev’s subjects have lost their home but not their defiant spirit. Go to Full Review Savina Petkova The Film Stage Sep 6, 2026
Like its predecessor, [it] shows history in the making by documenting fragments of its peoples’ lives, reflections, and struggles against the authoritarian state, but also exceeds the expectations of your regular observational documentary. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
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My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile

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Movie Info

Synopsis A group of young journalists flee Moscow when Russia invades Ukraine and shuts down all independent media, turning telling the truth into a crime. Just days before, they were working as part of a vibrant opposition community. Now they're part of a historic exodus. They leave with a few hours' notice, carry-on suitcases, and no idea what country they can go to next that will let them stay and keep working. They must quickly get back on their feet to report on the biggest story of their lives, a war they all fiercely oppose. Intimate and immersive, the film sweeps across four years and a dozen countries. The complex, razor sharp and often very funny women -- and a few men -- gather in apartments that feel like waystations and borrowed offices before being uprooted yet again. They work to bring Russians an alternative to propaganda, speaking out against their country's war crimes and wrestling with personal moral accountability, even as Russia menaces them with criminal prosecution back home and physical threats abroad. Relying on dark humor to get through dark times, they keep working for the uncertain future of a country they may not return to for decades. As the years pass in exile, they have to redefine what work, family, friendship, love and home mean when you can't go home.
Director
Julia Loktev, Anna Nemzer
Producer
Julia Loktev
Distributor
MUBI
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 2026, Limited
Runtime
5h 55m
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