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Klondike
Set in Donetsk against the backdrop of the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 in 2014, a Ukrainian family attempts to live a normal life amid the absurdity and futility of conflict, in Maryna Er Gorbach’s visually striking film.
Director: Maryna Er Gorbach
Overview
Maryna Er Gorbach’s film is an uncomfortably accurate portrait of the attitudes and mentality of both ordinary people and pro-Russian separatists (one speaks Chechen, in a disturbing foretaste of recent events). Irka is expecting a baby and her husband, Tolik – who is apolitical – finds himself assisting his separatist friend. It’s a visually striking film with widescreen compositions making dramatic use of a landscape both beautiful and desolate. Er Gorbach, who wrote, directed and edited the film, describes Klondike as a film ‘for women’. It’s her first film as sole director and includes some harrowing episodes. Set against the shooting down of the Malaysian flight MH17 in 2014 and completed before the current invasion of Ukraine, it’s a devastating and essential portrait.
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