2000 Meters to Andriivka

What does it mean to be a soldier in war? Journalist Mstyslav Chernov has taken on the life-threatening mission of following Ukrainian soldiers in their recapture of Andriivka — a mission remarkably Hollywood-like. The soldiers must make their way through a 2,000-meter-long forest strip, where everything outside is a certain death. Soon it becomes clear that war is anything but a blockbuster.

Chernov has captured unique images of soldiers in bombed-out plains where the enemy is never seen and death can strike at any second. In the encounter between the pale reality and the Tarkovsky-like character of the landscapes, hell is portrayed without the need of further anti-war commentary.

Alongside the fighting, we meet the soldiers. Conversations about friendly rivalries between universities, finally understanding the worries of wives, and why one should smoke roll-your-own cigarettes rather than ready-mades, help give faces to the statistics of those whose lives the war has taken. 2000 Meters to Andriivka is an uncomfortable, yet all the more important, anti-war film.