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The war in Ukraine has come not only to Ukrainians. It has also come to Russian society, dividing it into two irreconcilable camps: those who oppose the war and those who support what the Kremlin insists on calling a ''military operation.'' Since February 24, every Russian family has members who no longer talk to each other, or who communicate only minimally, as though separated by a wall, because of the war. Government propagandists who command massive audiences on state TV are believed more than family members. Neutrality is impossible, and debate, or considering an alternative opinion ''with understanding," doesn't work. Parents have severed relationships with their children, husbands with wives, sisters with brothers.
The film Broken Ties, by independent Russian filmmaker Andrey Loshak, is an unflinching portrayal of families divided by war. It features seven different pairings, whose members speak periodically with Loshak, one-to-one, to explain their points of view. Their conversations extend over the war's first three months, during which time their opinions evidence no change. The film makes no attempt at dialogue -- on the contrary, it is a testimony to the absence of dialogue amidst an unfolding war, and an unsentimental diagnosis of the sickness of a society in which official propaganda proves stronger than even the most intimate family ties.
Pick up your free tickets at the box office.
The war in Ukraine has come not only to Ukrainians. It has also come to Russian society, dividing it into two irreconcilable camps: those who oppose the war and those who support what the Kremlin insists on calling a ''military operation.'' Since February 24, every Russian family has members who no longer talk to each other, or who communicate only minimally, as though separated by a wall, because of the war. Government propagandists who command massive audiences on state TV are believed more than family members. Neutrality is impossible, and debate, or considering an alternative opinion ''with understanding," doesn't work. Parents have severed relationships with their children, husbands with wives, sisters with brothers.
The film Broken Ties, by independent Russian filmmaker Andrey Loshak, is an unflinching portrayal of families divided by war. It features seven different pairings, whose members speak periodically with Loshak, one-to-one, to explain their points of view. Their conversations extend over the war's first three months, during which time their opinions evidence no change. The film makes no attempt at dialogue -- on the contrary, it is a testimony to the absence of dialogue amidst an unfolding war, and an unsentimental diagnosis of the sickness of a society in which official propaganda proves stronger than even the most intimate family ties.
