May 5, 2023
FILM: SLAVA UKRAINI
DIRECTED BY: BERNARD-HENRI LEVY
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It’s been more than a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Like any conflict of this magnitude, artists are often compelled to comment using their own medium about how such atrocities have affected the people most involved. Bernard-Henri Levi is a French philosopher and filmmaker who bravely and compassionately explores Ukraine’s second half of 2022 in the new documentary Slava Ukraini.
Using a small film crew, Levi creates a “travelogue” of the country, and in particular, its most affected cities and villages. Along the way he interviews locals, soldiers, and at least one man who was tortured by the invaders. The accounts of abuse and lost family members is disturbing to hear. However, we are given details that most of us in the West haven’t really been exposed to. Yes, our media regularly reports on the war but Levy takes us to the forefront for an in-depth perspective of which most news segments barely scratch the surface.
Of course, since this is a film, it is the disturbing visuals that might stand out the most. Levy visits such damaged cities as Kyiv, Kharkov, Lyman, and Kherson providing ample evidence of destruction in the aftermath of bombings. Some of these occurred just days or hours before Levy’s film crew arrives on the scene. We see broken roads, collapsed bridges, and distant fires that seem all too familiar based on footage we’ve seen from other wars. Yet, since this is such recent devastation and that the locations don’t look much different from other European countries or even our own U.S. rural settings today make the visuals all the more chilling.
Based on what we see in the film, the major difference between this war and those that came before appears partially in the form of drones that encircle many of these regions. This is modern warfare after all using the latest in technology. Yet, there are many reminders that war is still war and conflicts of the past are echoed today. It is interesting to see, albeit very briefly, sites like the Odessa stairs, which many of us film people will remember being featured so prominently in Sergei Eisenstein’s film Battleship Potemkin almost a hundred years ago, representing yet another sad era with so many human casualties in this region. Another constant seems to be that, for better or worse, fighting soldiers remain primarily men. Women are “minding the homes.” So, has much changed in the last century? The film suggests that there remains continued psychological pressure to intimidate civilians and these innocent people continue to be the victims of mass scale wars.
While all of this might sound very depressing to view I would argue that it is actually more enlightening and educational than that. For instance, many Ukrainians are seen going about their everyday activities. One scene features people sitting at outdoor cafes almost oblivious to the sirens blaring around them. Yet even more important is the fighting spirit of the Ukrainians on display throughout the film. While we don’t see them in battle, their attitudes suggest they will fight until they win. It’s great to see this commitment and high degree of morale on display. Yet, the film also suggests that more help is needed, especially in the area of weaponry. With continued support perhaps the solid and strong people of Ukraine may just become victorious yet. At least that is what Levy and his crew suggest with this important historical record of a sadly torn apart country.
Slava Ukraini opens today at Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago.
.
FILM: SLAVA UKRAINI
DIRECTED BY: BERNARD-HENRI LEVY
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It’s been more than a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Like any conflict of this magnitude, artists are often compelled to comment using their own medium about how such atrocities have affected the people most involved. Bernard-Henri Levi is a French philosopher and filmmaker who bravely and compassionately explores Ukraine’s second half of 2022 in the new documentary Slava Ukraini.
Using a small film crew, Levi creates a “travelogue” of the country, and in particular, its most affected cities and villages. Along the way he interviews locals, soldiers, and at least one man who was tortured by the invaders. The accounts of abuse and lost family members is disturbing to hear. However, we are given details that most of us in the West haven’t really been exposed to. Yes, our media regularly reports on the war but Levy takes us to the forefront for an in-depth perspective of which most news segments barely scratch the surface.
Of course, since this is a film, it is the disturbing visuals that might stand out the most. Levy visits such damaged cities as Kyiv, Kharkov, Lyman, and Kherson providing ample evidence of destruction in the aftermath of bombings. Some of these occurred just days or hours before Levy’s film crew arrives on the scene. We see broken roads, collapsed bridges, and distant fires that seem all too familiar based on footage we’ve seen from other wars. Yet, since this is such recent devastation and that the locations don’t look much different from other European countries or even our own U.S. rural settings today make the visuals all the more chilling.
Based on what we see in the film, the major difference between this war and those that came before appears partially in the form of drones that encircle many of these regions. This is modern warfare after all using the latest in technology. Yet, there are many reminders that war is still war and conflicts of the past are echoed today. It is interesting to see, albeit very briefly, sites like the Odessa stairs, which many of us film people will remember being featured so prominently in Sergei Eisenstein’s film Battleship Potemkin almost a hundred years ago, representing yet another sad era with so many human casualties in this region. Another constant seems to be that, for better or worse, fighting soldiers remain primarily men. Women are “minding the homes.” So, has much changed in the last century? The film suggests that there remains continued psychological pressure to intimidate civilians and these innocent people continue to be the victims of mass scale wars.
While all of this might sound very depressing to view I would argue that it is actually more enlightening and educational than that. For instance, many Ukrainians are seen going about their everyday activities. One scene features people sitting at outdoor cafes almost oblivious to the sirens blaring around them. Yet even more important is the fighting spirit of the Ukrainians on display throughout the film. While we don’t see them in battle, their attitudes suggest they will fight until they win. It’s great to see this commitment and high degree of morale on display. Yet, the film also suggests that more help is needed, especially in the area of weaponry. With continued support perhaps the solid and strong people of Ukraine may just become victorious yet. At least that is what Levy and his crew suggest with this important historical record of a sadly torn apart country.
Slava Ukraini opens today at Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago.
.