Directed by:
Krzysztof LukaszewiczScreenplay:
Krzysztof LukaszewiczCinematography:
Witold StokCast:
Dzmitry Vinsent Papko, Karolina Gruszka, Aliaksandr Malchanau, Denis Tarasenko, Anatoliy Kot, Lech Lotocki, Anna Iberszer, Zacharjasz Muszyński (more)Plots(1)
Inspired by the story of Franak Viachorka.
Miron (23 y.) is not interested in politics, he thinks his friends from the democratic opposition make just a bunch of daydreamers.
However, the next concert of his "apolitical" rock band triggers off an anti-regime manifestation among the audience. Miron, despite his inborn heart disease is enlisted for the army for 15 months by way of punishment for " fomenting political unrest among young people".
In his military unit, Miron has to face up abject conditions which do not meet basic human needs and the absurdity of Soviet-inspired indoctrination. For the commanding officers, ubiquitous "hazing" is a means of manipulation of their conscript soldiers.
Miron starts secretly , via an "illegal" mobile dictating his girlfriend Vera his diary of "a conscript soldier". The diary posted by Vera on an internet blog shows the army as a miniature version of the social and political relations in Lukashenko's Belarus. Miron combines fragments of the blog into satirical song "in honour of the army and the regime" , and they soon become real hits among young people. The regime starts a plot to discredit and crush Miron...
(Febiofest)
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Reviews (1)
I was aware of Belarusian totalitarianism, but until I saw this movie, I wasn’t able to find a deeper connection to this country. Hats off for being able to write such a story. It’s basically nothing more than a human story about a boy who gets taken down by a regime, therefore it’s a similar story as those created during totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia. The only difference is that while it’s all in the past over here, it’s harsh reality of the present times in Belarus. I must pay my respects to the director for having the strength to tell such a story. After the viewing, the movie had an even greater impact on me when the director passionately told us about how it’s practically all true. That makes it harder to even imagine it all. Don’t even get me started on the fact that it was hard for the Belarusian actors to even manage to shoot such a movie in their country. Truly, hats off! The only reason I’m not giving it five stars is because I got a little bit lost in that Belarusian jungle from time to time. While we complain about our president being a caricature, we must realize that things can always get worse. I must thank the 3Kino movie festival for letting me view this movie.
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Photo © Kino Świat
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