A deaf man who worships samurai watches his war obsession become devastatingly real.
Viktor, who was born deaf, worships the figure of the samurai warrior. When bombs start falling on his countryside home in Kharkiv, his quasi-romantic obsession with war is put to the test.
Cinematography
Stunning monochrome captures Ukraine's devastation with brutal poetry.
Direction
Sarbil's patient observation lets horror unfold in real time.
Sound
Deliberate sound design mirrors Viktor's fragmented perception.
Director
Olivier Sarbil
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sarbil spent months embedded with Viktor before filming, capturing his genuine shock when the abstract 'art' of war became his neighbors' corpses.
Viktor's samurai collection was real and extensive; he refused to sell any pieces to fund his escape, clutching them until the final evacuation.
DK
US
