July 14, 2023
FILM: 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL
DIRECTED BY MSTYSLAV CHERNOV
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
One approach to evaluating a film is to determine if it reaches the goal set out by the filmmaker. In this case, writer/director Mstyslov Chernov’s film 20 Days in Mariupol has succeeded and then some as he faced insurmountable odds to achieve his mission to show the world the atrocities and devastation committed by Russia on Ukraine in the first 20 days of war in 2022. This is an absolutely bare-boned, heartbreaking account of what the city of Mariupol went through during that period.
Chernov is a journalist who captures the initial days of bombings along with the confused and terrorized people of this city. They are panicked and angry. They hide in basements and shelters with small children. At least one person barks at Chernov for filming such a horrible sequence of events. Another calls him a prostitute for doing what he is doing. But the anchors of this project are those trying to help the victims. Doctors, in particular, tell Chernov to keep filming and actually take him to film some of the worst victims. The goal is to get as much of this footage out to the world so it can see what Putin and his soldiers have caused. The more difficult to view the better. Why hide the truth? Chernov doesn’t.
This can be a very hard film to view for we see and hear about the deaths of small children and adolescents. We see the destruction of apartment buildings, hospitals, and a top university. We see the desperate survivors looting from stores. We see how Chernov and the people he tries to film are stranded with no electricity, heat, internet, and not enough medical supplies. All the while the Russians surround the city and take it over. Yes, it is devastatingly sad.
However, this is exactly why the film should exist and be shown. The world needs to see the atrocities as they are unfolding. If we don’t see it, how will we ever be able to have true empathy and help the victims? Many ask why this is happening. We too ask the questions for so much that we see on screen appears completely senseless. The film offers plenty of deep philosophical discussions about the harm humanity can cause itself.
This is clear direct cinema though. We see what is happening as it is occurring. While Chernov narrates the film (in English) after the fact, his camera runs into hospitals with dying patients. He interviews grief stricken women and children. The camera captures terrifying moments when soldiers are running for cover. As such, what we see looks visually shaky as if we are there with Chernov. Sometimes the camera records upside down. There isn’t an attempt to make this story easy to follow. Cutting is often fast-paced and shocking as it should be.
Yet, all of this is what makes the film so extraordinary. This isn’t some Hollywood production trying to recreate something that happened many years ago. This is real live drama. The fact that Chernov was even able to get the footage out of the country is pretty astounding. He has created a major historical record of the start of a war that could never be duplicated in any other way.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see this incredible document. It will open your eyes to the darkest of human tragedies while witnessing undying dedication at uncovering the truth.
20 Days in Mariupol opens today at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago. On Tuesday, July 18th, Mstyslov Chernov will be present for a Q & A after the 6:15 screening.
FILM: 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL
DIRECTED BY MSTYSLAV CHERNOV
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
One approach to evaluating a film is to determine if it reaches the goal set out by the filmmaker. In this case, writer/director Mstyslov Chernov’s film 20 Days in Mariupol has succeeded and then some as he faced insurmountable odds to achieve his mission to show the world the atrocities and devastation committed by Russia on Ukraine in the first 20 days of war in 2022. This is an absolutely bare-boned, heartbreaking account of what the city of Mariupol went through during that period.
Chernov is a journalist who captures the initial days of bombings along with the confused and terrorized people of this city. They are panicked and angry. They hide in basements and shelters with small children. At least one person barks at Chernov for filming such a horrible sequence of events. Another calls him a prostitute for doing what he is doing. But the anchors of this project are those trying to help the victims. Doctors, in particular, tell Chernov to keep filming and actually take him to film some of the worst victims. The goal is to get as much of this footage out to the world so it can see what Putin and his soldiers have caused. The more difficult to view the better. Why hide the truth? Chernov doesn’t.
This can be a very hard film to view for we see and hear about the deaths of small children and adolescents. We see the destruction of apartment buildings, hospitals, and a top university. We see the desperate survivors looting from stores. We see how Chernov and the people he tries to film are stranded with no electricity, heat, internet, and not enough medical supplies. All the while the Russians surround the city and take it over. Yes, it is devastatingly sad.
However, this is exactly why the film should exist and be shown. The world needs to see the atrocities as they are unfolding. If we don’t see it, how will we ever be able to have true empathy and help the victims? Many ask why this is happening. We too ask the questions for so much that we see on screen appears completely senseless. The film offers plenty of deep philosophical discussions about the harm humanity can cause itself.
This is clear direct cinema though. We see what is happening as it is occurring. While Chernov narrates the film (in English) after the fact, his camera runs into hospitals with dying patients. He interviews grief stricken women and children. The camera captures terrifying moments when soldiers are running for cover. As such, what we see looks visually shaky as if we are there with Chernov. Sometimes the camera records upside down. There isn’t an attempt to make this story easy to follow. Cutting is often fast-paced and shocking as it should be.
Yet, all of this is what makes the film so extraordinary. This isn’t some Hollywood production trying to recreate something that happened many years ago. This is real live drama. The fact that Chernov was even able to get the footage out of the country is pretty astounding. He has created a major historical record of the start of a war that could never be duplicated in any other way.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see this incredible document. It will open your eyes to the darkest of human tragedies while witnessing undying dedication at uncovering the truth.
20 Days in Mariupol opens today at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago. On Tuesday, July 18th, Mstyslov Chernov will be present for a Q & A after the 6:15 screening.