Venice Documentaries Attempt to Reckon With Russia’s ‘Historical, Transformative, Apocalyptic’ War in Ukraine

As a film critic with extensive experience in analyzing conflicts and their impact on society, I find both “Russians at War” and “The Earth is Red” to be profoundly insightful documentaries that offer unique perspectives on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. While some may question the sympathetic portrayal of Russian soldiers in Trofimova’s film, I believe it is crucial to humanize the individuals who are often reduced to mere statistics in discussions about war.

As Russian troops invaded Ukraine at dawn on February 24, 2022, documentary filmmaker Olha Zhurba experienced an overwhelming sense of impending doom that suggested the end of life as she knew it. Her immediate response was to grab her camera and venture onto the streets of Kyiv to capture the unfolding events. “I realized I needed to be here, right in the heart of this historically significant, transformative, and apocalyptic era in Ukraine,” Zhurba shared with EbMaster

About 200 miles distant, Anastasia Trofimova – a Russian-Canadian filmmaker who occasionally worked as a news producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Moscow office – was filming a segment near the Russia-Ukraine border. Suddenly, news of an invasion reached them. Despite this, her team carried on, broadcasting live from their hotel balcony while Trofimova retreated to her room, stunned and dismayed by the unexpected turn of events that Putin referred to as a “special military operation.”

Time passed, and she woke up feeling as if her entire life, sense of self, and identity had shattered into pieces. All the beliefs she held dear seemed to be cast aside, tossed out like waste. The director explains this sensation. Later, she also started filming scenes depicting the war from the home front perspective. Not long after, she joined a Russian army unit, providing an extraordinary firsthand account of soldiers battling Putin’s war on the battlefront

Two years hence, Zhurba’s second film, “Songs of Slow Burning Earth,” and Trofimova’s “Russians at War” are debuting simultaneously at the Venice Film Festival, outside the main competition. Combined, these documentaries present a powerful depiction of a conflict that has persisted for nearly 1,000 days, while underscoring how the heavy toll of war is unfairly shouldered by those who were unwitting victims of Russia’s unwarranted act of hostility

On the eve of the festival, Zhurba, who had recently premiered her debut feature “Outside” at CPH:DOX and Hot Docs, spoke to EbMaster from Kyiv amidst the tumult that followed the Russian invasion. She remembered the initial days in Ukraine as disorganized and perplexing. Upon arriving at Kyiv’s main railway station one morning, she encountered a large-scale evacuation of primarily women and children attempting to leave the country. “The scene I witnessed mirrored the turmoil that I felt inside,” she said. “I saw my own emotions reflected in those around me.”

During the early stages of Russia’s military offensive, as concerns grew that Kyiv could be overtaken and Ukraine might come under enemy rule, a significant mobilization process was in progress: it involved evacuating the nation’s most at-risk individuals, serving on the frontlines, organizing medical supplies and other essential resources for the soldiers and volunteers fighting on the battlefield

As time passed, when the Russian advance was halted and the conflict transformed into a harsh truth for countless Ukrainians, Zhurba found herself driven to record how the struggle had come to shape their daily lives. “I felt the urge and desire to portray this societal transformation adapting to war,” she explains. “Where does the boundary of our perception of destruction, conflict, death lie? Where does our adaptation to this end?”

7 years after moving to Canada at the age of 10, Trofimova returned to Moscow and observed a disturbingly familiar yet unsettling version of normality emerging. This was due to the Kremlin’s propaganda influence overseeing the storyline about the war, concealing its harsh reality and human toll from ordinary Russians. As time passed, with oppressive laws and fierce suppression snuffing out the budding anti-war movement, the director observed the construction of an alternate reality designed to bolster the Russian war effort

Venice Documentaries Attempt to Reckon With Russia’s ‘Historical, Transformative, Apocalyptic’ War in Ukraine

When touring Russia, it seems as though a conflict isn’t occurring, according to Trofimova. People carry on with their daily lives, cafes are open, and everything operates as usual. As a seasoned correspondent who has covered conflicts in Syria, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other regions, the director accompanied a Russian military unit and journeyed to the battlefront to challenge this sense of tranquility while also seeking insight into what motivates the soldiers fighting Ukraine and sacrificing their lives

In Trofimova’s director’s statement, she notes that “the suffering of war is felt universally,” but as the two films demonstrate, this pain is not distributed equally. Zhurba’s poignant documentary portrays a country devastated by Russian soldiers and bombardments, with entire towns and villages reduced to ruins as survivors struggle to rebuild. Many of the countless unidentified victims pulled from the debris or found on the battlefield are laid to rest in a mass grave, their humble graves adorned with a wooden cross and an inscription saying: “Temporarily Unknown Defender of Ukraine.” The devastation inflicted upon the country has been total. Despite any emerging fissures in a Russian economy burdened by unprecedented international sanctions or in a society that has grown increasingly critical, if not always openly so, of Putin’s war effort, Russia as a nation remains intact. Those engaged in the conflict have homes and families to return to

Trofimova’s portrait of Russian soldiers is predominantly compassionate, which some might find overly empathetic, as the filmmaker herself admits. The documentary, titled “Russians at War,” attempts to humanize the multitude of disposable and replaceable individuals in the Kremlin’s unyielding war apparatus. Trofimova reveals that many soldiers involved in Putin’s conflict have been deceived by government propaganda, forced into service, or enticed – be it by idealistic misconceptions or the illusion of a nonexistent paycheck – to participate in a war whose rationale few can articulate. One soldier simply states, “There was an order. We went in.”

The justifications given aren’t likely to persuade millions of Ukrainians whose lives have been disrupted or ruined by Putin’s actions, and some may even doubt the reasoning behind the Venice programming team’s choice to feature “Russians at War” in their official selection. (The festival did not respond to a request from EbMaster for an explanation of their decision-making process.) For her part, Trofimova made this film under significant personal risk; when the production consulted lawyers in Moscow, according to the director, one prepared a list of potential criminal violations related to “Russians at War” that was almost three pages long. “We’re unsure what the reaction will be [after the premiere],” Trofimova states

The movies don’t provide an insight into where the conflict will head next or what will be left in its wake; instead, historians may need to interpret another unnecessary, ill-fated war that has left us in a state of pain and trauma. Zhurba admits that we lack the time and capacity to contemplate this suffering at present. Instead, we’re busy reacting and adapting. We can’t fully comprehend, analyze, reflect on it, and heal yet

The resolution of this difficult situation seems distant, as the ongoing conflict between the two nations shows no signs of abating. However, given their shared history, culture, and geographical circumstances, a confrontation is inevitably on the horizon for these countries. As Zhurba puts it, “We can’t eliminate this country or move ourselves to another place.” In Trofimova’s words, “Russia is not disappearing.”

2024-09-05 17:28

Venice Documentaries Attempt to Reckon With Russia’s ‘Historical, Transformative, Apocalyptic’ War in Ukraine

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