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My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile

Play trailer Poster for My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile Oct 2026 5h 55m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 18 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 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.

Critics Reviews

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Sam Adams Slate Oct 13, 2026
Unsurprisingly, Exile lacks the shaggy hangout charm of its predecessor... But we gain more insight into who they are as individuals. Go to Full Review Ryan Lattanzio IndieWire Oct 10, 2026
A-
Grand in scale but entirely intimate in scope, what she’s achieved here is a landmark work that will go down as one of the boldest documentary achievements of the 21st century. Go to Full Review Alissa Wilkinson New York Times Oct 8, 2026
“Exile” does not answer these questions, but the journalists in it are stumbling toward ways to keep going. Go to Full Review Christopher Campbell Nonfics (Substack) 4 days ago
This isn’t your usual refugee tale. It’s a complex political portrait of a crossroads that has come after a missed turn. Go to Full Review Stephen Silver The SS Ben Hecht 5 days ago
it’s hard not to be in awe of the subjects’ bravery. Go to Full Review Erik Reeds Spectrum Culture 6 days ago
With no real end in sight to the war, one hopes those disenfranchised by it can keep their lives together, and anything that chronicles that struggle as richly as My Undesirable Friends is a bit of a miracle. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Daniel B @danielb_nyc Oct 12, 2026 It was very interesting to see how the beginning of the war felt for those in the bullseye of Putin's fascist apparatus. Those journalists are heroes. But I couldn't manage to watch 355 minutes of that. I left the theater after 2-1/2 hours. Are there people who do this for 6 hours? Really? We should find an American editor to create a more digestible express version for people with normal jobs/lives of this. See more Read all reviews
My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile

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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
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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
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 2026, Limited
Runtime
5h 55m
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