The Russia-Ukraine war is affecting every country in some way or the other. People are fleeing the war-torn country and trying to take refuge in other neighbouring nations or trying to return to their home countries by some or the other means.
Ukranian cinema has, over the years, come up with some great films that depict the various social aspects. Amidst the ongoing war, here are a few films from Ukraine that have depicted the day-to-day issues and struggles of the people of the country.
‘Zemlya’ (Earth)
This impressionistic silent Russian film depicts the difficulties and tribulations of a collective of farmers who clash with more rich "kulak" landlords. The farmers, led by Vasili (Semyon Savshenko), pool their money to purchase a tractor, a triumphant development that soon becomes tragic. Despite their difficulties, the farmers persevere, their connection to the land obvious in the film's many scenes of breathtaking rural splendour.
‘Za Dvoma Zaytsiamy’ (Chasing Two Hares)
A barber whose penchant for drinking, gambling, and women causes him to go bankrupt. He marries an unattractive, wealthy woman to alleviate his financial difficulties, but he yearn for a virtuous beauty who despises him.
‘Tini Zabutykh Predkiv’ (Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors)
Ivan (Ivan Mikolaichuk) is hopelessly in love with Marichka, his childhood lover (Larisa Kadochnikova). Despite the fact that their families are estranged, the two have built an unbreakable friendship over the years, despite the fact that her father murdered his father. Ivan wants to marry his sweetheart, but he must leave town to obtain a respectable dowry. After he leaves, he encounters a succession of stumbling blocks and catastrophes that complicate the upcoming union – only to return to more sorrow.
Povodyr’ (The Guide)
1930s Soviet Ukraine Michael Shamrock, an American engineer, travels in Kharkiv with his ten-year-old son, Peter, to assist "create socialism." He falls in love with an actress named Olga, who has another admirer in the form of Commissar Vladimir. Tragically, the American is slain, and his kid is rescued from his pursuers by a blind bard (kobzar). With no other option for survival in a new nation, the youngster volunteers to be his guide.
‘Donbass’
In the volatile times in eastern Ukraine, society begins to disintegrate as the consequences of misinformation and manipulation become apparent. The thirteen portions of the video focus on the war between Ukraine and the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic in the mid-2010s.
