The writer and a director is a household name in Ukraine after she has catapulted herself into fame with the meritorious TV series To Catch the Kaidash.
For the latter, Natalya Vorozhbit has served as the writer and a showrunner. She has transplanted the 19th century classic Ukrainian novel into nowadays reality where all Ukrainians recognized themselves and their troubles and guilty pleasures. The whole country has been swept away with the master craft.
Now Mrs. Vorozhbit has made her way into the big screen, and the start is vertiginous. 100 minutes of the grilling movie is painful experience to stomach and to delve into. As Ukraine goes through the catharsis of the war in the East, one might expect that the movie, especially propped up with a dole of public funds, would transgress into a piece claining, albeit subtly, the righteousness of our case.
Far from it. The war is cruel and demanding for both sides, and especially for those caught in between as the DUI-ed headmaster of Popasna School N3 who launches a string of interconnected novellas.
After the third episode when the gates of the hell seem to have widely open, you are plunged into the seemingly innocent mild road incident when a strayed hen is killed. Would you expect what you see from a pair of peasants whose rusted shaving razors are piled in a filth sink?
It is still evident that the dramaturgic power of Vorozhbit, given her experience, still dominates over her cinematography. Details are gripping as the aftertaste and anticipation of more to come from this ascented star of Ukraine's cinema and theater.
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