Stop-Zemlia

Kateryna Gornostai, an aspiring director with solid documentary background, presents a delicate insight into the emotional life of high-schoolers. All her teenage actors had been picked through in-depth interviews and underwent a two-months-long series of workshops before they were finally approved as their characters. This helps us understand the nature of the movie, not much of a drama, but a careful character study employing the documentary toolset, combined with incredible camera work, organic acting, and meticulous editing to create an immersive and believable picture. I was deeply moved by Gornostai's delicate and loving manner of dealing with teenage insecurity, which I wish I could have experienced myself as a 16-year-old.

I expected that I did not like the film, but even after seeing the quality of the image, direction and color editing, I became interested - maybe the film is of better quality than I expected. And then the dialogues and the plot captivated me, I felt nostalgia - even though I did not even have similar episodes in my life. In general, I really liked the film, it was very exciting, I got a little lost in its world (although the subject matter is not at all typical for me). In general, I advise you to try to watch, even if you are a man of 25+ years and you think that this topic is definitely not suitable for you.

The film is not really only about teenagers self-discovering themselves together or isolated from each other, but also about the political situation that is lurking behind the scenes. Since 2014, Ukraine has been under the attack of dictator Russia which is why talking about this evil shadow is inevitable in a Ukrainian film. You might be surprised but even long before that, Ukraine has been under the invasion of Russia every few decades for centuries. As a result, Kateryna is determined to portray the effects of the previous Russian invasion through their school education. The medical and shooting training of these teenagers in high school becomes the precursor of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2022. Director utilizes a few documentary cameras and plot styles to let the audience into the story of Masha and her friends. In that way, this becomes a great example of a realistic indie film and a portrait of the Ukrainian youth.

The screenplay is outstanding, close-up cinematography, perfect music, and good actor play. This movie could bring us back to the time when we were 16.

It's really wonderful film. I have felt the extraordinary familiar and, although not always, pleasant atmosphere. Pretty and live heroes, wool clothes, impressive music, great scenes and professional work... I fall in live <3 Thanks to all the team that worked at this. I want to buy the cup with logo or the picture from the dude's room in a hat (where the plane is).