Our take
In 2013, following the Ukrainian government’s termination of an EU agreement (in blatant disregard of what its citizens have been calling for), a wave of peaceful protests start to crop up at the country’s capital. Things escalate when the police violently disperse the protestors, but the people of Ukraine are not so easily held down. They fight back, growing in number and conviction each time they do, until an all-out war finally breaks out.
Winter on Fire documents this series of events, staying close to the ground and allowing bits of humanity to shine through its subjects. In between chilling clips of the clashes, we’re shown intimate interviews with people of all walks of life. They’re doctors, actors, students, bankers, lawyers, and clergymen, from various classes, races, religions, and genders. Despite their many differences, all of them share one hope: to secure a better future for the people of Ukraine.
The story
Over 93 days in Ukraine, what started as peaceful student demonstrations became a violent revolution and full-fledged civil rights movement.
Elsewhere
"Though it ultimately arrives at an uplifting outcome, Winter on Fire also serves as a bleak prelude to Ukraine's current war with Russia."
— Eric Kohn
"Though the film is limited by a point of view that's too polemically reductive, the idealistic, difficult, sometimes lethal struggles it covers are undeniably revelatory and moving."
— Godfrey Cheshire
The details
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
