Icarus (2017 film)

Icarus is a 2017 American documentary film by Bryan Fogel. Initially an attempt by Fogel to expose the inadequacy of existing policies and procedures to catch athletes who use banned performance-enhancing substances, the project shifted focus after pressures related to the World Anti-Doping Agency's investigation of doping in Russia led Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory and one of Fogel's primary advisors, to flee Russia and become a whistleblower.

The film premiered on January 20, 2017, at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it won The Orwell Award, a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award. Its distribution rights were acquired by Netflix, which released Icarus for streaming globally on August 4, 2017. On March 4, 2018, the film won Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards.

Synopsis
While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, Bryan Fogel, an American filmmaker and high-level amateur cyclist, connects with Russian scientist Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory. Rodchenkov agrees to help Fogel with an experiment to prove that the current way athletes are tested for drugs is insufficient, and he designs a protocol that will allow Fogel to take banned performance-enhancing drugs while avoiding positive drug tests. As Fogel continues his training, he and Rodchenkov become friends, and Rodchenkov even visits the United States to collect urine samples from Fogel.

Fogel, disappointed after doing worse in the grueling Haute Route Alps race while doping than he had done the previous year, visits Rodchenkov in Moscow. Back at home, he follows developing allegations of a Russian state-sponsored Olympic doping program overseen by Rodchenkov, and sees images in the international media of his friend and the lab he had visited. The ensuing investigation leads Rodchenkov to be forced to resign as head of the Moscow lab. Worried that he may be "silenced" by the Russian government, Rodchenkov works with Fogel to come to Los Angeles and go into hiding. Using documentation that Rodchenkov brought with him as evidence, the pair speak to the U.S. Department of Justice and the New York Times, alleging that Russia has conspired to cheat in the Olympics for decades, and Rodchenkov was hired to ramp up the operation after the embarrassing performance of Russia in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

On camera, Rodchenkov testifies that, at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he and his team, with the help of the Russian Federal Security Service, switched the steroid-tainted urine of the Russian national team with clean samples. His spreadsheets, discs, e-mails, and other incriminating evidence of Russian governmental involvement force the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee to investigate. After WADA's independent investigation confirms Rodchenkov's claims, U.S. law enforcement places him in witness protection. Rodchenkov's lawyer, Jim Walden, describes the threats to Rodchenkov's life and the suspicious deaths of two of Rodchenkov's associates.

The film ends with title cards stating that the Russian government continues to deny it had any involvement with the program, and that Rodchenkov remains in protective custody in the United States.

Reception
On the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 50 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Icarus is eye-opening viewing for professional sports enthusiasts, yet it should also prove thoroughly gripping even for filmgoers who might not necessarily be drawn to the subject." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and called it "a crackling documentary".

The trailer for the film was screened during a February 2018 meeting of the U.S. Helsinki Commission (also known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe). During that meeting, attorney Jim Walden spoke about Rodchenkov's work, as well as the need for better enforcement by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee in order to eliminate corruption and restore integrity to the international athletic community.

At the 90th Academy Awards, the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. During his on-stage acceptance remarks at the ceremony, director Bryan Fogel said:"We dedicate this award to Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, our fearless whistle-blower who now lives in great danger. We hope Icarus is a wake-up call — yes, about Russia, but more than that, about the importance of telling the truth, now more than ever."