Riva's Remarks

     The scene that moved me at the end of the film was Gregory’s difficult call to his wife to inform her that he was entering the Witness Protection Program. Both were distraught when talking, and you could tell by the wife’s actions and facial expression that she knew her husband was in danger. They were speechless at times. Grigory also spoke in a code to her and assured her that she knew what he was talking about. This phone call was heartbreaking for their lives were about to change forever.      The calming music being played when Bryan took Grigory to the airport added to the emotional farewell. Both questioned when they would see each other again. Grigory assures Bryan that he will be back yet says to him , ``Remember me.” They embrace and you can tell that they realize this may be a final farewell.      The questions that remain are: Is Grigory sorry for his involvement in the Russian doping scandal? Will Grigory ever be safe and be...

     The scene where Grigory was getting fingerprinted for the Witness Protection Program gave me a feeling of satisfaction that he was being protected yet made me disheartened that after all he did to expose the scandal, he still was not being rewarded or safe. No one had his back, but Fogel who always stood by his side and aggressively spoke in favor of him. Unfortunately, Grigory always felt that someone was stalking him. He was afraid that Russian authorities had found him.      It surprised me how Fogel remained involved in getting the sandal publicized. Instead of using the information for his own benefit and promoting a film on his own, he encouraged Grigory to go public and set up appointments with the New York Times and the Justice Department. His idea for a documentary came later.      After viewing this section of the film, I questioned why the Justice Department decided not to pardon Rodchenkov for exposing the Russian scanda...

     In “Icarus,” it was interesting how the relationship between Fogel and Rodchenkov progressed. I felt it was rewarding to see how Grigory kept encouraging Bryan when he felt his training was not going well and he was not performing up to his expectations. Rodchenkov also warned Bryan about keeping his testing quiet while he was in Moscow. This warning alerted me that Rodchenkov had some inner secret about doping. When giving Bryan a tour of his lab, Grigory told him that he signed a Code of Ethics to work in the lab, yet he also said that no one was perfect. This was a foreshadowing of the allegations that were soon to be made. Grigory treated Bryan like family and invited him to parties and served him his special vodka. This continued to feel somewhat unusual since they had known each other for a short period of time.      On November 9, 2015, doping allegations against Russia were raised. This caught me off-guard because it happened shortly after the ...