Overview

The first film in a trilogy about the Soviet-Ukrainian war of the early twentieth century. The film is about the fate of two young men who volunteered to defend Ukraine and were almost immediately captured by the Reds. It is about loyalty to ideals and unscrupulousness. The film perfectly captures the atmosphere of those times, especially noticeable among the local population, this typical Ukrainian farming "my house is on the edge" attitude. As the director said, he didn't try to figure out who was right and who was wrong, so there are no unambiguously good or bad characters in the film, neither among the Red Army nor among the Petliura members. Among the disadvantages are some sound synchronization and sometimes unreliable acting, but the plot is as engaging as any story about the difficult fate of Ukrainians. The plot is quite predictable, but it is no less interesting in its performance.