Popular reviews

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  Review by Kevflix And Chill ★★★★½

  AP journalists chronicle the first days of the Russian incursion into Ukraine. Harrowing footage of the fallout of Russian bombardments into civilians neighborhoods, fire departments, and hospitals.  It’s incredibly harrowing to watch. Children and infants are among the many dead and wounded. And most that have survived (to this point) are left in despair — no home, and no way out. A must watch.
  SIFF 0223 

  2023 Ranked

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  Review by Marianna Neal ★★★★★ 6

  "I think about all this country has been through over the past 8 years, all that I filmed. Revolution of Dignity, Crimea's annexation, Russia's invasion of Donbas, MH17, Donetsk Airport siege. War that seems endless. Thousands have died. We keep filming and things stay the same. Worse even - propaganda turns everything upside down."

  There are no words. Only anger and grief.

  I've seen a lot of this already, many times, unable to take my eyes off the news and social media feeds of people I grew up with, but it will never be any easier to watch. The dead and mangled civilians, the dead and mangled children. Overwhelmed hospitals. Mass graves. The blood and tears and pain. All of…

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  Review by Joshua Dysart ★★★★★ 4

  You cannot explain to me a geopolitical policy that justifies this. There is no rationale, no logic, no reasoning of human governance that should allow for this. The minute you’ve bombed a child your history, your culture, your pride, your grievance don’t matter anymore. Your trauma doesn't matter anymore, because trauma that inflicts more trauma is the path to mutual destruction. None of your reasons for bombing a child matter. My nation, the United States has bombed children. And many, many other nations have as well. A few are bombing children right now. One of them is Russia. And if children are being bombed, then we have to watch. We have to see. To witness it. Confront it. There is…

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  Review by Terence Ang 洪偉凱 ★★★★

  A(nother) brave and necessary documentation of a(nother) cowardly and unnecessary act of evil.

  That we'll surely get more of these important accounts, as genocide'S' around the world continue, is both a sigh of relief and a sigh of hopelessness.

  READ: Mstyslav Chernov's AP article

  WATCH: PBS' Frontline's 20 Days in Mariupol

  < Ang Ranking: Best International Feature Film submissions to the 96th Academy Awards >

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  Review by pirateneckbeard ★★★★ 2

  Wow what a cold shot of depresso. This thing folds out with constant sadness for what these people have to endure meanwhile the small footage that leaks out is considered by Russian politicians as fake news and that's when I wondered if it's fake then where is your news footage of the crisis. It's tragic seeing the deaths of so many especially the young lifeless bodies. They do blur the wounds and faces for respect but I did find it odd that they censored the swear words in translation. I like they got a lot of honest dialogue from suffering citizens but I did find the image of the hand sifting sand kinda of eye rolling to showcase the frailty of human life and it's existence still very impactful documentary and can see why it's getting it's accolades even though it makes for a difficult watch.

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  Review by Matt Neglia ★★★★

  20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL is a tough watch but vital for getting an honest account of the brutality of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some truly haunting images, all told with visual urgency & melancholic voiceover from a brave but weary journalist putting himself on the front lines.

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  Review by Brother Bro ★★★★

  A grueling, devastating document of a city taking its last breaths, and the grief and trauma experienced by those remaining inside it. This is mostly footage from one video journalist and features some voiceover from his perspective, but the footage often appropriately speaks for itself. If you’re interested in what’s happened in Ukraine over the last year then this could be an essential resource. Just know it’s entirely unflinching and will be upsetting, but not without purpose

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  Review by joshrowley ★★★★

  Devastating; difficult; horrifying; important; observational; short; simple; timely; tragic; violent.

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  Review by EddieMara ★★★★★

  But we have so many dead people. Dead children. How could more death change anything?

  A gruesome and gut-wrenching documentary that displays the sheer brutality and bleakness of the state of war happening in Ukraine during the first 3 weeks of the invasion. Not a single war movie came even remotely close to depicting the real ugliness, desolation and dreadfulness of war.

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  Review by Stringer Bell ★★★★½ 4

  Winner of The Cinema for Peace award for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: 20 Days in Mariupol by Mstyslav Chernov is an example of harrowing, gut-wrenching, powerful and important documentary filmmaking at the ground-level of the Russian invasion.
  One of the hardest things I've had to watch in years.
  It took about 30 minutes for the tears to start flowing and I don't think I stopped crying until the credits rolled.

  I lived in Eastern Europe for 2 years in my mid-20's, spending a lot of time in Poland and Ukraine. I've met some of the most welcoming, open and beautiful people that I've ever encountered in my life. Ukraine may not be my country, but it has…

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  Review by Karl ★★★★ 2

  War is like an x-ray. All human insides become visible. Good people become better; bad people become worse.

  Really shows the importance of documenting the barbaric and unimaginable to prove to the naysayers the reality or war against everyday citizens (even then some will say it’s staged) and more importantly mobilize those willing to help. There are some objections to filming but there are more who want the camera to keep rolling so as not to be erased. They want their story told.

  This is a really tough watch. It’ll remind you how fortunate you are. It’ll also remind you that these atrocities of war are still going on and not just in the Ukraine but also in Gaza. These…

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  Review by Ðen Buðanov ★★★★★

  💔 Terrifying footage that breaks the heart. At 45 minutes I needed a short break because I started to choke and couldn't stop crying. As we say: це повний розьоб.