Ludzie

This is a Polish-made film set in war-torn Ukraine. It's not so much about the war, but about its effect on those caught up in it. It's not an easy watch. It's harrowing, visceral, uncompromising and downright brutal.

It takes the form of a number of inter-connected stories of men, women and children - some of whom have lost any semblance of humanity, some of whom have lost their last shred of hope, some of whom commit ghastly acts of betrayal in order to survive.

The film doesn't take sides. When you see a man with a gun it's not always clear whether he's Russian or Ukrainian - and to the non-combattants caught in the crossfire there's often little to choose between the two. There's rape, there's casual murder, there's indifference to suffering on a hideous scale. And it's happening today in Ukraine, in Gaza, in I don't know how many places round the world. And it could happen in your home town tomorrow.

I've seen this film described as uplifting. It isn't. There are some characters who do their best, but their efforts are swamped by the sheer scale of events.

I urge as many people as possible to see this film. You won't be entertained. Instead you will emerge - to borrow from Coleridge - sadder and wiser for the experience.

The storyline of five women may lead the viewer to believe that there's feminine themes. While there is a bit of that, it's largely the most brutal war footage I've seen in my life and that's saying something. While women are the main protagonists, the men around them are compelling. Some fantastic character actor performances including one of the most vile war villains disguised as an intellectual.

It's a student film and there are cracks, but perhaps that's helpful for the pacing because who can handle 2 whole hours of Omaha Beach battles? Some of the war scenes are epic including one involving a multiple layer freeway clover overpass under bombardment. This isn't action like a video game or a regular movie, you feel for every one of the ordinary people who suddenly find their world utterly destroyed and the deaths come at such a fast pace I lost the ability to remotely process them which is a neat allegory for how European warfare is. It's not paced for entertainment but rather comes at you whether you can handle it or not. It should not be described as a "women's story" film. I'd describe it more as the reality of a 21st century modern industrial European war conducted with WWII brutality. I could see some people around me got PTSD watching it. I woke up in the middle of last night.

So why watch it? To respect the dead and survivors and the gallant bravery of those whose lives were snuffed out in some scenes faster than you could conduct a body count with each one mattering. I had read about these stories before and the filmmaker says that they are all based upon actual events making it all even more horrific and compelling. These stories deserve to be remembered.

I wondered if those who went through something like this could ever enjoy "war films" again in the same way regular people do. I certainly know my perception has been altered. If you thought Private Ryan and Schinder's List wasn't such a big deal, see if you can handle this.

Perhaps it's also a good thing that those who play video games or read memes don't take this as seriously as they should. I can't say if it's good for someone, or not, to see this but you should understand going into it because, if there's a theme to this film from beginning to end is that the people in this film didn't know what they were in for either making it all that much more grueling.