20 Days in Mariupol

As heart wrenching a film as you're ever likely to see; you will be overwhelmed with disbelief that in the 21st Century the sights and sounds captured by Mstyslav Chernov's camera and microphone can actually take place; that innocent children, women and men can be forced to endure such torment and turmoil, by an aggressor who has no concern for the rules of engagement during times of conflict, and is clearly targeting the most vulnerable citizens of a city that's been battered and beaten continually by munitions of destruction, where even the hospitals are open season for razing. Not long ago it was Syria, For Sama, and there is a common denominator.

I saw this in a well-attended cinema screening just the other day. I can't recall a film having the impact this one did. At the end credits - silence. No one said a word and slowly filtered out. Its difficult not being effected by this film, as it confronts the viewer with the sort of hard-hitting stuff that the news generally air-brushes out. Its pretty much the exact opposite of comfort viewing - this film confirms not only are things bad but they are probably a lot worse than you imagined them to be.

As the title indicates, this is a ground level view of events in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the first 20 days of the Russian invasion. A disembodied voice-over relates details and an ominous soundtrack magnifies certain moments but mostly, the footage speaks for itself. The basic set-up has journalist Mstyslav Chernov stay behind to film events as the horror of war escalates on a daily basis. From Chernov's position, we are put directly into the war zone and are confronted with the civilian experience. To this end, we are forced to see the terror and suffering that these innocent people are forced to endure on account of a war initiated for utterly disingenuous reasons. While this is clearly a film about the Ukrainian situation and the sheer wrongness of the Russian invasion, it also will get you thinking that it is also about war in general, as these shocking moments are happening all over our world as part of various military conflicts. We can become desensitised to this and our news reporting is often far too sanitised, allowing us to more easily disconnect. Its films like this one which approaches war in the opposite way and ensures the viewer has no easy escape.

I think this documentary needs to be added on YouTube and watched for free, specially in Russia! Everyone have to see how russian army killed civilians, women, children. This documentary is an evidence of the war!

I was crying heavily during all movie. I was always thinking "what happened to the people who were caught on camera? Are they alive? What happened to this little girl which was born? Did this man got to his wife? Did the boy survived? What happened to a policeman? Is he still alive? How about this doctor who was shouting about Putin? Where is he? Is he ok? What about these military men? " I couldn't stop thinking about these people!

It is very difficult to watch this movie. The worst thing is that it covers less then 1% of the horrors that happened in Mariupol. When the russians launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they spared no shells and destroyed everything in their path. They destroyed entire cities, killed thousands of civilians and children. This is a real genocide of the Ukrainian people. I hope karma catches up with them. I hope the world society will do something to stop the bloody aggressor - the russia.

It is impossible to watch this movie and remain indifferent. It's very scary and it's very sad. I couldn't hold back tears the whole time I was watching the movie. I wish this had never happened, but unfortunately it is a reality, it really was. And it continues to this day.

This documentary is about as real as it gets. The film is pieced together from footage shot in Mariupol during February and March 2022. You might have already seen snippets, especially from the maternity hospital, but this takes you day by day and includes some less common materials.

I won't get into the usual critiques of quality or story flow. That would be idiotic. They captured what they could in the midst of war, when everything including electricity for their cameras was at scarce. It surprises me that some reviewers are complaining, as if this were some Hollywood production in the making for five years. Jesus.

I recommend watching it. The war is ongoing, and it won't just disappear because we're tired of it. It serves as a powerful reminder to the world about what's happening in Ukraine every day.