Despite coming from the frontline of Ukraine's war with Russia, The Eastern Front: Terror and Torture in Ukraine barely focusses on the battles and military conflict at all.
Instead the filmmakers travel to villages and cities to talk to ordinary people about the impact the war - particularly war crimes committed by the Russians - is having on them.
The bombastic military approach isn't missed here. There are moments of danger and you can feel that at any point the front line is only a few miles away but for the most part it is the honesty and the fear of the "characters" that shines through.
This creates a deeply moving and confronting account of the war and the way it can very quickly turn the lives of people just like you and me upside down. From old ladies hiding under the couch as their apartments are shelled to victims of torture reliving their experiences in the cells they were kept in, it is the normalcy of the people in this film - facing an extraordinary situation - that makes it so compelling and powerful.
It references some of the misinformation about the war in Western media without fanning the flames or taking a tit-for-tat approach. Instead letting the stories of the people in the film speak for themselves. It's a harrowing and eye opening documentary well worth a watch if you want to know what's really happening in Ukraine.
