The film is a powerful drama that draws attention to the problem of the use of punitive psychiatry in the USSR.
The main character, Andriy Dovzhenko, is faced with a difficult choice: cooperate with the KGB or reveal the truth about the torture of dissidents and ordinary patients in a psychiatric hospital, but at the same time expose his family and himself to blows of the totalitarian system.
It is worth noting the excellent acting of Kostyantyn Temlyak, Irma Vitovska and Vitaly Saliy.
Kostyantyn Temlyak in the role of Andriy Dovzhenko conveys the deep emotions and internal conflicts of his character, making his struggle with the system extremely convincing.
We see how his character changes over time and goes from an internal rebellion, caused by the desire to live a comfortable life for him, not limited by the norms and laws of the society around him, to a struggle with virtually the entire punishment machine and pseudo psychiatry.
A wonderfully executed role, a good continuation of the actor's acting after the role of Tychyna in "Slovo-House" movie.
Vitaly Saliy in the role of Kozych impresses with his charismatic performance and excellent acting of his character. Indeed, Vitaly is a star of modern Ukrainian cinema; one can only wish him: better choose the projects which he participates in and give preference to higher quality ones.
Irma Vitovska in the role of Iryna Lagnovska adds emotional depth and humanity to the film, adds faith that the system can be changed from within.
It is also worth noticing the imperfection of the voice acting and speech of the characters: the language of almost all the characters is very "flat", "licked", without features that exist in real life. Almost all the characters communicate in such way and in that language like they were playing on the stage of an academic theater; the texture of the language is very smoothed, there are no roughnesses, differences in both the sound range and vocabulary. Sometimes it seems that most of the characters speak in the same tone, as if they were voiced by a single voice actor. Some "hooks" in pronunciation, different tones, phrases, words, different pronunciation, possible defects or features of diction, etc. Are missing. The characters who take part in the movie belong to completely different layers of society, different social groups but, in fact, communicate in a very similar language and in the same frequency range. There are almost no mats and profanity, which is very surprising for those conditions and times. This makes the dialogues less natural and somewhat detracts from the overall positive impression of the film.
The problem of character voice acting, their speech and pronunciation (and sometimes their dialogues) is one of the most common problems of Ukrainian cinema, which needs attention and improvement.
And the examples of Pamfir and Luxemburg-Luxembourg show that there is no need to be afraid to use more lively language in movies.
In addition, there are a couple of "heroic" monologues, which do not look very natural and appropriate.
It is worth noting the excellent cinematography and sound work. The interiors of the 1970s of the Soviet Union are also quite well represented.
The atmosphere of a special medical institution is perfectly embodied, and the soundtrack in the scenes in the hospital and throughout the movie as a whole sets the right mood and color of the events taking place.
In general, we can say that this movie will not leave any viewer indifferent, because it not only highlights the tragic, but important for understanding, pages of life in a totalitarian country, but also makes you think about the value of freedom and human dignity.
I recommend watching it. Worthy of 8/10 points within the scope of Ukrainian cinematography.
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