This week, a documentary by Leonid Kanter and Ivan Yasnii Volunteers of God’s Platoon was released. It tells about specific phases of the battle for the Donetsk airport and about the fighters of Ukrainian Volunteer corps in Pisky. As of yet, the movie is only shown to the viewers of the capital city, in the movie theater “Kinopanorama.” Along the way, it will be shown in theaters of other Ukrainian cities as well, the filmmakers assert. In Kyiv, the movie will not be available for too long – so far, it is scheduled only through February 11.
“Long ago, the exploits of the heroes of the past were related in the epic form of duma, that is a documentary, albeit in an artistic arrangement,” argues Leonid Kanter, the director. “It is similar to what we have done. Actually, this movie is a duma – an artistic retelling of a documentary story.”
The film presents the war in its extreme concentration – adrenaline, humor, pain, anguish, and courage tightly packed into 82 minutes of screen time. It shows scenes of battle, the evacuation of the wounded, the capture of the new terminal, and civilians, who live near the fighting’s epicenter. It features death and frontline humor, and a bit of philosophical discussions as well. The music blends perfectly with the video, consisting of tracks by Komu Vnyz band and “Dobrovoltsi” by Oleksa Byk, which became the volunteer’s unofficial anthem.
“It was a tandem,” says Ivan Yasnii about the sharing of the responsibilities. “Leonid always had a small camera with him. We divided the work: the artistic subtleties were on my part, and he always showed up in the right place to film all the operational footage, somewhere where you’d need to climb, slip or infiltrate.” The fighters of Ukrainian Volunteer corps laughingly recall Kanter’s courage. “I have never seen a more reckless operator or director,” reminisces the soldier with the callsign “Boheme,” director of a children’s theater in the civilian life. “Leonid is an utterly crazy person lacking any self-preservative instinct. People with guns everywhere, and there he goes – with the camera – into the thick of the action!”
The film session schedule in Kinopanorama is as follows: 5 p.m. on February 5-7; 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m. on February 8; 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m. on February 9-11.
