Under the Volcano

A Ukrainian family of four is on a very recognizable charter holiday in Tenerife when war breaks out in their homeland. The flight home is canceled, and the family is caught in an absurd limbo surrounded by beaches and party people, while the family back in Kyiv frantically tries to flee the city in anticipation of a Russian invasion.

The family continues to do normal holiday activities to distract the children, but the atmosphere becomes increasingly tense. There are Russian tourists at the hotel who do not worry significantly about the political development, and the introverted eldest daughter in particular feels very much like an outsider looking in, surrounded by the local kids. She nevertheless finds a kind of community with a young African refugee with his own experiences from war and hardship. 

The film builds up the growing sense of imminent danger with images of an increasingly agitated sea around the island, and a miserable excursion to a dormant volcano. Even nature is becoming threatening. It's the calm before the storm, a kind of waiting period before the family must start making impossible choices that will affect them forever.