20 Days in Mariupol (2023)

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots April 23, 2023

★ 8/10

**By: Louisa Moore / www.ScreenZealots.com** “20 Days in Mariupol” is one of the most painful films I have ever watched: it is also one of the most important. This stunning documentary not only gives a chilling firsthand view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it captures actual war crimes. Due to its strategic location, Mariupol has become one of the most important regions in the war. On the eve of Russia’s invasion, Ukranian filmmaker and journalist Mstyslav Chernov and two colleagues entered the port city to cover the situation as press. When bombs began falling nearby, the team suddenly found themselves trapped in a dangerous conflict zone after the siege began. Hiding out in hospitals so they could capture footage and share it with the world, the trio spent 20 days filming this unflinching account of what was really happening to the country and her people. This documenta…

Brent Marchant January 3, 2024

★ 9/10

Considering the searing nature of this troubling documentary, I feel somewhat uneasy in recommending it as must-see viewing. Nevertheless, this is one of those films that has to be seen in order for the truth behind its story to be fully realized. When Ukrainian journalist-writer-director Mstyslav Chernov and two colleagues chronicled the first days of the nation’s brutal conflict with Russia, they probably had no idea what they were in for. Working from the Black Sea port city of Mariupol, they captured devastating footage of the relentless Russian attacks, particularly the enemy’s ruthless assaults on civilian targets, despite assurances to the contrary. The Russians were simultaneously determined to destroy the Ukrainian communications infrastructure to prevent word of the atrocities from getting out to the wider world, seriously hindering the work of Chernov and company as the on…

CinemaSerf January 29, 2024

★ 7/10

This is quite an harrowing documentary following a camera crew who secret themselves in a makeshift hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol as the Russian military advances. What starts on day one as a largely intact and functioning urban area is gradually reduced to rubble as the invading forces bombard the place from the ground and the air slowly terrorising the populace and removing their access to even the most basic of necessities - shelter, water, electricity. It's told chronologically, and therefore it's quite easy for us to see the degradation day-by-day as the people somewhat stoically determine to stay put in the face of some pretty overwhelming military might. The fact that many people do stay is remarkably well captured here. Not just those living there, but those in the professional services who stay to tend the sick, put out the fires - their own sort of "Blitz Spirit". …