Starring: Sofiia Berezovska, Roman Lutskyi, Anastasiia Karpienko, Fedir Pugachov
Directed by: Damian Kocur
Rating: ★★★★☆
Military vehicles, soldiers and their decorations are not necessary additives of a war movie. For that matter, the horror of conflicts or past traumas neither are strictly needed. The 4 protagonists of Pod wulkanem (Under the Volcano) are immersed in the present moment upon discovering that Russia has invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The Polish filmmaker explained that the plot is inspired by the real story of Ukrainians who were surprised by the same war in Madagascar.
In Under the Volcano the return flight to Kyiv of an Ukrainian family on vacation under the Mount Teide is suddenly cancelled. The armed conflict has now begun. In Damian Kocur’s second feature film, the idea that war is haunting does not materialize through real footage. The audience can only imagine what keeps the family members glued with bated breath to the screen.
The position of teenager Sofiia (Sofiia Berezovska) and her family in the narration is ambiguous. They are condemned to be tourists indefinitely far from their country that is being ravaged by war. Despite being cornered on Tenerife island, the family can feel safe in Spain and enjoy unofficially a privileged refugee status. They are indeed offered free room and board indefinitely by the hotel management in which they had initially booked their holiday.
The Polish director revisits the topic of “homeliness on holiday” that he handled from a different angle in Bread and Salt (2022). In his previous film pianist Tymoteusz feels unfamiliar in his hometown. In Under the Volcano, instead, Zofia, her father (Roman Lutskyi), stepmother (Anastasiia Karpienko) and young brother (Fedir Pugachov) are not allowed to experience domesticity at all — in both films the actors use their real name for the character they play.
The theme of immigration as well returns in Kocur’s most recent cinematic effort through the character of Mike, a young African immigrant fresh from a dangerous boat trip from West Africa to the Canaries. Sofiia befriends Mike. They are culturally distant, but united by the fact they perceive themselves as exiles on the island.
Just like Ruben Östlund’s films, Kocur’s drama is infused with a lull-before-the-storm feeling that pervades the interaction between the characters, both before and after the news of the military attack. Eventually, it is the sound more than images that conjures up the irruption of the war in the characters‘ lives. Under the Volcano is Poland’s candidate for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Film Reviewed by Giuseppe Sedia
Published by Kino Mania on October 19, 2024