KLONDIKE

The Ukrainian conflict is one that has dominated the news for over 18 months.  Yet the tensions go back further than that and include the horrific shooting down of the passenger plane Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.  That incident and its violent aftermath is told via the lives of expectant farmer couple Irka (Oksana Cherkashyna) and Tolik (Sergiy Shadrin).  Their bombed house, with a blown-out wall providing a window on the conflict raging in the distance, becomes the striking setting for a story that mixes marital dispute, politics and wartime survival.

Director Maryna Er Gorbach uses long contemplative and meticulously composed shots and artful cinematography to find great beauty in the horrors of war in a compelling, often darkly humorous and harrowingly authentic watch. “Dedicated to the women”, it provides a powerful female perspective and features a riveting central performance as the heavily pregnant Irka steadfastly refuses to leave her home, building to a shocking and unforgettably intense final scene.