Intercepted

"Intercepted" is not just another war documentary. It is a mirror reflecting the terrifying truth about what russia brought to Ukraine - not only bombs and destruction, but also the complete absence of empathy, morality, and even basic humanity among those carrying out this war.

On the screen we see destroyed homes, Ukrainian civilians standing for humanitarian aid, trying to cling to normal life. And over these images, we hear russian voices - cold, casual, indifferent. They speak to their families about stealing clothes, sneakers, perfumes, and laptops from Ukrainian homes.

Even more disturbing is the reaction of the people on the other end of the line - mothers, wives, girlfriends. Instead of condemning the looting or the killings, they cheer them on, encourage them, and sometimes even demand more cruelty. One mother tells her son to be harsher with locals, to show no pity.

The film shows us not only the soldiers committing atrocities, but also the families who normalize them, who turn violence and looting into something to be proud of.

What kind of society raises people who can laugh while their sons talk about killing, raping, and stealing? What kind of nation takes pleasure in the suffering of others? The answer is simple and terrifying: a society that has erased empathy from its moral code - a nation that has lost its soul.

I heard this question being asked of the director at a Q&A in Toronto: "where did you get these intercepted recordings from?" - and she responded that she just... downloaded them off the Ukrainian state intelligence website. She was then asked how she verified their authenticity. Any country's state security service wants to vilify their enemy or even spread disinformation about them, but that's not what docs are supposed to do with their audiences. Like, if you verified these recordings and could vouch for what we're hearing is true (and explain your selection process too) - that's cool, that gives an interesting insight to the war and what the Russians are like. But... she had nothing to say to that.

So the entire film you spend wondering if you're actually being had either by the Ukrainian state security or by Karpovich herself. Because those "intercepted" calls, kindly provided by the Ukrainian state security are the film, there's not much else. Is that even... ethically acceptable?

I cannot imagine any director going on the Russian state security website and just downloading "intercepted" recordings of Ukrainian soldiers that the Russian state kindly provided for everyone to see and make a film out of it. They'd be laughed out of the room. But what's up with this? Is this a film or state propaganda?

This film explains very little what Ukrainians are suffering from this war. Indeed it rather shows Russian soldiers or their relatives as victims. They are left without support in the frontlines, it's evidently Putin who sent them to Ukraine, their children say "daddy come back, we love you", they cry into the phone, many are killed and nobody cares, the authorities do not pay the promised money for being wounded or killed... And even in the end, the speaker is claimed "a hero".

The conversations proves that common Russians are envious, dumb and cruel. They steal and kill civilians.

I don't think this film is useful to show the realities of the Russian invasion into Ukraine.

When the director was asked where she got the recording, she stated - from the Ukrainian forces. Considering the content of the film, this source wouldn't be super reliable as they have their own agenda. There are professional requirements for journalists, and even when the viewer can be sympathetic to Ukraine, the director still should avoid a potential for fake material.

Mild spoiler: these are quotations from russian invasion soldiers' phone conversations with their families.

They are so pure evil that they don't even know they are evil, they don't reflect. A kind of, in their own way, innocent ghouls that you cannot even talk to, only wooden stake through a heart will work.

Like Tolkien's orcs. Only you know that orcs don't exist, and these, so to speak, people do, and hundreds of thousands of them are now pillaging Ukraine.

Warning, you are in a real danger of losing your sleep if you watch it. You cannot unsee it, and once you see - the world becomes a much scarier place.