Shidniy front

Kyiv, August 24, 2022, Ukraine’s Independence Day. A burnt-out tank on a deserted street. A voiceover tells us: “This is the central axis of the capital of Ukraine. This is Russian military equipment. This is not victory yet.” Half a year has passed since the whole world became aware of Russia’s attack. It actually began in 2014, but many did not perceive it as such at the time. This is also explained by the voice in the commentary that belongs to Vitaly Mansky. The other director, Yevhen Titarenko, captures an insider’s images which reveal precisely what (this) war means. He has been with the “Hospitallers” volunteer medical battalion since 2014 and is now on full duty. He and his eight-person brigade encounter cows that are sinking in mud, dogs that have gone feral and people in close proximity with death. The shift from scenes on the frontline in the east to home leave with the family in the west, where questions are asked and conversations held (and where the men deposit their sperm for posterity), make the scenes on duty seem almost like memories. At times disturbingly raw and direct, yet always enlightening, this film shows in close-up how a nation is fighting for its survival.