They Who Surround Us

A quite effecting study of a grief struck, but taciturn, man, and, we learn, loving father. The beauty of Alberta is stunningly portrayed, as are the horrors inflicted on Ukrainians during -- what I presume is, although it is interestingly kept somewhat ambiguous -- the recapture, by vengeful Soviet forces, of territory taken by the Nazis previously. I found, however, the apparitions, in present times, of lost love ones to be occasionally a bit jarring, breaking with what was otherwise the otherworldly, Malick-like, cinematography and excellent character development. That said, an impressive piece of work.

I watched this movie with some hope that it'd be worthwhile despite its rating only 6.1 on IMDb. I mean, it's from Canada right; home of Atom Egotan and Neve Campbell and Ryan Gosling and Bruce Greenwood. How bad could it be? The answer is: DEADLY.

Any comparison between Bergman and this boring load of tripe is simply laughable. Yes, Bergman's movies could be slow and depressing and, in some instances, one wondered where the movie was going, but they generally had something to sustain their running time and, most often rewarded those who were prepared to sit back and immerse themselves in what Ingmar desired to convey.

This movie was simply and terribly boring. It's NOT mesmerising. It's soporific. The ONLY aspect of its production which I found at all rewarding was the cinematography which was very lovely at times but which ultimately failed to satisfy when combined with the rest of the movie.

Acting - only fair. Direction - tedious and boring. Script - was there a script? Cinematograpy - nice at times. Enough said.

"They Who Surround Us" goes straight to my folder called "Watched but will never watch again".

I was raised on a farm not far from Vegreville so aside from the touching account of our Ukrainian beginnings, this was a wonderful reflection of memories from my youth.

Troy Ruptash portrays his character with such realism and heart that at times, I forgot I was watching a movie. Brilliant!

The young boy in the movie who played young Roman, Pierce Briggs, is a definite up and comer! He was great!!

The cinematography was amazing in this film. The prairie landscape was breathtaking.

Thank you for bringing rural Alberta to the big screen. I look forward to more and more, Troy!

If you've never lived n the prairies, you are in for a full tour. The footage of fields and farms and small town Ukrainian Canadian prairie life in the late 80's is stunning and full of reminisce. The story is both a classic family history for many of the Ukrainian diaspora and a story of personal tragedy. A stand out is the actress playing the aunt- her looks speak moe than words. It is a moving and beautiful film telling a unique Ukrainian Canadian story.

The plot for "They who surround us" is weak and the direction does not help much. The movie goes back and forth with past and present and does not develop from that. The script is shallow and we do not have a sense or feel of the pain the main character is going through. We see the images but not the feeling. Troy Ruptash is a good actor, but his direction falls short.

The could be an hour movie long.