Le serment de Pamfir

Heavy. Brave. Quality work. These three epithets came to my mind after we left the cinema. "Pamfir" is difficult to describe. It doesn't fall into categories. How can you categorize Macbeth or a Greek tragedy?

Cinematography is perfect. The message is strong. "Defend your values like a beast, nevertheless, stay human".

Eight stars out of ten. Many scenes are too painful to watch for a Ukrainian in the midst of the war. At times you feel like "yes, it's real life, this is how it goes in our mountains". At other times you tell yourself "no, it's too brutal, it's an artistic exaggeration". You believe the characters; you feel strong empathy for the ones and strong hate for the others. You expect some justice, some flicker of hope. You are waiting for the victory of good over evil. But the film doesn't give you that. The end is far from happy. So you leave the cinema feeling kind of devastated. Only after a few hours the message is getting to you. So it goes. Be strong. Be resilient. Defend your values. Don't wait for mercy. The world is ruthless. You aren't.