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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 27.Jul.25

2000 Meters to Andriivka
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

MUST SEE

2000 Meters to Andriivka
dir-scr Mstyslav Chernov
prd Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson
with Mstyslav, Alex, Duda, Fedya, Freak, Gagarin, Piro, Kobzar, Kapter, Angel, Courier, Baton, Vitos, Bors, Fish, Hector, Moroz, Bohun, Baldy, Sava, Hun, Kavun, Shabo, Sheva, Abdul
release US/UK 1.Aug.25
25/Ukraine 1h48

SUNDANCE FILM FEST
CANNES FILM FEST

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Embedding cameras with troops on the frontline, filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov takes the audience right into the hotspot, allowing us to feel the earth rattling as the young men come under fire. Chernov's intensely personal voiceover, plus aerial footage and news reports, recounts the story of troops advancing through the ancient forest near the village of Andriivka. This is a new kind of battlefield film: immersive, timely and essential.

In desolated wasteland that was once beautiful Ukrainian countryside, a group of young men face a relentless assault from Russian missiles and drones. Andriivka is a small but strategic location for protecting this region, and commanders on the eastern front are determined to liberate it and raise Ukraine's flag there. They also know it will take three months to work their way through these 2,000 hellish metres. Progress is slow but steady as a small group of Ukrainian soldiers tenaciously presses the Russians, pushing them back until they finally retake what's left of the village.

Sudden explosions hit terrifyingly close-by, injuring the men on-screen, including those with cameras on their helmets. Heart-stopping incidents include an escape tank getting stuck in the mud, leaving the men to make a run for it under heavy fire. Helmet-cam footage is harrowing to watch, especially as it looks eerily like something from a first-person shooter videogame. And a cut to mothers weeping over their fallen sons is wrenching, even overwhelming. Most of these soldiers volunteered to fight, and Chernov's narration notes their fate in battles yet to come, offering chilling future context to these immediate moments.

If the Russians knew journalists were travelling with Ukrainian forces, they'd be a primary target. Retaking these villages is a mixed triumph: it raises morale throughout the country, even if little but rubble remains. Indeed, there is nothing left of Andriivka when they finally get there. "However you spin it, this is our land," one soldier says. Another observes, arriving in the battlefield is like landing on a planet where everything is trying to kill you. But they are right in the middle of Europe. This is filmmaking at its most urgent, bravely shot and skilfully edited to document what is really happening. And Chernov knows that the longer Russia keeps destroying his country, the less the world will care about it.

themes, language, violence 27.Jul.25

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL