Reflection

November 2014. Russia has annexed Crimea, and there is a full-blown conflict between Ukrainian and Russian troops. Ukrainian surgeon Serhiy enlists in the army, but is quickly captured by the Russians. He is held captive and subjected to torture and humiliation, before eventually being given the task to look after others who have been tortured or killed.

Reflection does not show us battle scenes from the front lines, but brings forward the atrocities that go on behind the scenes of war. Violence, interrogation, lack of compassion and relentless bureaucracy reign, and Serhiy is just a piece in a big puzzle. This is not a film for the faint of heart. The depictions of violence are close and brutal, and the camera never shies away from the horror. It is also brilliantly directed, with fluid camera movements and well-composed tableaux, and a larger story that not only depicts the impact of the war on individuals, but on society as a whole.