In the current political climate there could not be a more timely film than the Oscar nominated documentary Porcelain War. It takes place in Ukraine and follows an artist couple, Slava and Anya, who despite being in the middle of the war continue to make whimsical little porcelain creatures. The film follows them and their painter friend Andrey who relocated to Kharkiv before the war started from Crimea after Putin annexed the place, but now finds himself part of the civilian army fighting against the Russians.
Slava becomes a gunnery trainer for all the civilian men and women who are taking up arms to fight. Andrey stops painting and gets behind the camera to film what is happening. He also reluctantly sends his wife and daughters to safety in Lithuania as the danger escalates. The film follows them into battle as their drones fly high over the heads of the Russians and drop bombs on their targets. It’s a close up view of a horrible situation. There are not a whole lot of scenes of carnage, but it is just beyond the frame.
But there is the other side of life, too, as Slava and Anya walk in the woods with their dog Frodo and work on their art and pick mushrooms and find inspiration for their whimsical little creatures that they continue to produce even as the bombs keep falling and Slava keeps heading out to train more troops to keep the Russians at bay. Their lives are a balancing act of creativity and love and war and horror. There is even a beautiful but brief reunion with Andrey and his wife and daughters that will make you cry.
The inspiring film was the brainchild of American filmmaker Brendan Bellomo along with his friend ceramicist Slava Leontyev. It is tied together nicely by the background music of the Ukrainian neo-folk quartet DakhaBrakha, a group I’ve listen to for years. As one of the documentaries nominated at the upcoming Academy Awards, it should be interesting to see the acceptance speech if it wins, given the latest capitulation from the current US administration. I wish them well.