Reflection (2021 film)
Reflection | |
---|---|
Ukrainian | Відблиск |
Directed by | Valentyn Vasyanovych |
Written by | Valentyn Vasyanovych |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Valentyn Vasyanovych |
Production companies | Arsenal Films Limelite / ForeFilms |
Distributed by | New Europe Film (world) Arthouse Traffic (Ukraine) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 125 minutes |
Country | Ukraine |
Languages | Ukrainian Russian |
Budget | ₴31.3 mil. UAH (€1 mil EUR) |
Reflection (
Plot
The film centers on Serhiy, a Ukrainian military surgeon who is captured by the
Production crew
- Director: Valentyn Vasyanovych
- Writer: Valentyn Vasyanovych
- Cinematographer: Valentyn Vasyanovych
- Editor: Valentyn Vasyanovych
- Producers: Valentyn Vasyanovych, Iya Myslyts'ka, Volodymyr Yatsenko, Anna Sobolevska
- Production designer: Vladlen Odudenko
- Sound director: Serhiy Stepanksyi
- Costume designer: Olena Hermanenko
- Make-up: Hanna Lukashenko
- Camera man: Yuriy Dunay
- Casting: Tetiana Symon
Cast
- Roman Lutskyi as Serhiy
- Nika Myslyts'ka as Polina
- Nadiya Levchenko as Olha
- Andriy Rymaruk as Andriy
- Oleksandr Danyliuk as Surgeon
- Andrii Senchuk as Psychologist
- Ihor Shulha as Chief of the Prison
- Dmytro Sova as tortured Ukrainian prisoner
- Stanislav Aseyev as Russian FSB officer
Budget
Film project Reflection won during the 11th pitching of Ukrainian State Film Agency; ₴25 million of state funding was awarded, which represents 80% of the total budget of ₴31.3 million (€1 million).[8][9][10]
Production
Reflection was produced by Valentyn Vasyanovych and Iya Myslyts'ka (Harmata Films/Arsenal Films) as well as Volodymyr Yatsenko and Anna Sobolevska (Limelite/ForeFilms). Pre-production prepeartions for the movie took place in May 2020.[11] Filming began in early summer of 2020 and ended in January 2021. In July 2021 film producers announced that they are already finishing the post-production and starting editing the film.[12]
Unlike Vasyanovych's previous feature film, Atlantis (2019) where most of the actors were the actual veterans of Russo-Ukrainian War, in Reflection most of the actors involved were professional.[13][14][15] However, to ensure a realistic depiction of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Vasyanovych heavily relied on military consultants, who have gone through Russo-Ukrainian War; one of the better known of the film's consultants was Stanislav Aseyev, who himself spent more than two years as political prisoner in the Donetsk People's Republic's notorious Izolyatsia prison in 2017–2019.[16]
The film is shot in Vasyanovych's trademark series of static, single-frame shots; according to Variety's experts “Reflection” consists of 29 static shots.[17]
Marketing
Promotion
On August 27, 2021, the film's international distributor New Europe Film Sales unveiled the first international poster for the movie.[18]
On September 5, 2021, a day before its world premiere at the
Release
Film Festival release
In January 2020, Reflection won the Alphapanda Audience Engagement Award at
In early July 2021, it was announced that film distribution company New Europe Film Sales picked up international distribution rights for Reflection.[28][29][7] That same month, in July 2021, it was also announced that film distribution company Arthouse Traffic picked up Ukrainian distribution rights.
In late July 2021, one of film's producers, Volodymyr Yatsenko, stated that there was a competition taking place between the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival for the right to be the venue of Reflection's world premiere;[30] ultimately the latter won and consequently film's world premiere took place on 6 September 2021 at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Golden Lion.[2][3][4][5][31]
In October, the film was presented at 50th Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma as a part of the Incontournables section.
Theatrical release
The film was set to have a wide theatrical release in Ukraine in 2022 through its Ukrainian distributor, Arthouse Traffic.[citation needed]
Reception
The film was released in September 2021 to generally favorable rievews from film critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[32] On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 4 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[33] At film's world premiere at Venice the film received ten-minute standing ovation.[34][35]
Leslie Felperin, writing for
After the premiere of the film in Venice in September 2021, the vast majority of Ukrainian film critics spoke in favor of the film. Alex Malyshenko from Bird In Flight praised the film, calling it “one of the main Ukrainian films of the next [2022] year”, but noted that the perception of the film may differ because, according to Malyshenko, watching “Reflection”, you are likely to think of cruelty war and personal choice, about death and life after it, about the Buddhist and Christian concept of the soul and even a little about ghosts “and” for some it will be a pleasant experience of immersion, and some will suffer from long scenes and complex cinematic language.[41]
Awards and nominations
Awards | ||||
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Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
Venice Film Festival[2] | 6 September 2021 | Golden Lion | Valentyn Vasyanovych | Nominated |
References
- ^ Vidblysk (Reflection). 6 September 2021 at 19:30 at Sala Darsena. labiennale.org/en/. 6 September 2021
- ^ a b c Roxborough, Scott (26 July 2021). "Venice Film Festival 2021 Full Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ a b Venezia 78 Competition 2021. labiennale.org/en/. 2021
- ^ a b c Vidblysk / Reflection (2021). labiennale.org/en/. 2021
- ^ a b Світові прем'єри нових фільмів Валентина Васяновича та Олега Сенцова відбудуться на Венеційському кінофестивалі. usfa.gov.ua. 26 July 2021 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Reflection. dzygamdb.com/uk/. 2021 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ a b Reflection / Відблиск (2021). neweuropefilmsales.com. 2021
- ^ Чорнобиль, Гамлет і підліткові труднощі. П'ятий день 11-го пітчингу Держкіно. detector.media. 29 липня 2019 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Названо переможців 11-го пітчингу Держкіно (ПОВНИЙ ПЕРЕЛІК). detector.media. 8 серпня 2019 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Заявка на участь у конкурсному відборі (пітчингу): Відблиск. dergkino.gov.ua. 2019 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ «Точка нуль», «Відблиск», «Їх було двоє» і «Вовченята». Новини контенту. mbr.com.ua/uk/. 22 травня 2020
- ^ Кінозал: Тріумф фільму «Атлантида» й робота над новою стрічкою «Відблиск» — Валентин Васянович. UA: Українське радіо. 2 липня 2021 (mp3) (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Valentyn Vasyanovych. Of love and war. daily2021.venezianews.it/en/. 6 September 2021
- ^ Венеція: українське вторгнення. Наш кінематограф буде представлений на безпрецедентному рівні на найстарішому кінофестивалі світу. day.kyiv.ua/uk/. 2021 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Режисер «Атлантиди» Валентин Васянович: «Мій фільм треба дивитися на великому екрані». lb.ua. 3 грудня 2020 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ «Війна — найпотужніша тема». Васянович пояснив, чому вирішив присвятити свій новий фільм конфлікту на Донбасі. nv.ua/ukr/. 27 липня 2021 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Ukrainian Director Valentyn Vasyanovych on Venice Competition Entry ‘Reflection’. variety.com. Sep 6, 2021
- ^ We are thrilled to unveil the artwork of REFLECTION by Valentyn Vasyanovych. World premiere: 7 September 2021. #BiennaleCinema2021. New Europe Film Sales's offciial Facebook page. 27 August 2021
- ^ Перший офіційний міжнародний трейлер фільму «Відблиск» (2021). youtube.com. 5 September 2021
- ^ ‘Reflection’: first trailer for Valentyn Vasyanovych's Venice Competition title (exclusive). screendaily.com. 5 September 2021
- ^ Дивіться перший трейлер фільму «Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича. the-village.com.ua. 5 вересня 2021 (In Ukrainian)
- ^ Trailer para Reflection de Valentyn Vasyanovych. cinemaldito.com. September 6, 2021 (in Spanish)
- ^ Atlantis’in Yönetmeni Valentyn Vasyanovych’in Reflection Filminden İlk Fragman Yayınlandı. filmloverss.com. 6 September 2021 (in Turkish)
- ^ Venice 2021 preview: Screen's guide to the Competition titles. screendaily.com. 27 August 2021
- ^ «Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича відібрали до копродукційного маркету в рамках «Берлінале». detector.media. 20 лютого 2020 (In Ukrainian)
- ^ «Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича відібрали до проєктів Berlinale Co-production Market. telekritika.ua/uk/. 20 February 2020 (In Ukrainian)
- ^ Berlinale Co-Production Market Brings 36 International Feature Film Projects Into Play. berlinale.de/en/. 15 січня 2020
- ^ Європейський дистриб'ютор придбав права на «Відблиск» Васяновича.m detector.media. 9 липня 2021
- ^ "New Europe Picks Up 'Reflection' By Venice Horizons Winner Valentyn Vasyanovych (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ «Наша мета – створити бренд українського кіна». Розмова з Володимиром Яценком про щастя і прокляття професії кінопродюсера. day.kyiv.ua/uk/. 23 липня 2021 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Ганна Мамонова. «Відблиск» Валентина Васяновича бере участь у конкурсній програмі Венеційського фестивалю. suspilne.media. 26 липня 2021
- ^ "Reflection". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- Fandom, Inc.Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ Наше завдання – розповісти світу про катування в Європі, у Донецьку – режисер «Відблиску» Васянович. radiosvoboda.org. 8 September 2021 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ War drama "Reflection" causes a 10-minute standing ovation in Venice. fostylen.com/en/. 09.09.2021
- ^ Venice 2021: ‘Reflection’ (‘Vidblysk’): Film Review. hollywoodreporter.com. 9 September 2021
- ^ ‘Reflection’ Review: A Stark Yet Soulful Evocation of PTSD-in-Progress. variety.com. 7 September 2021
- ^ ‘Reflection’: Venice Review. screendaily.com. 7 September 2021
- ^ Venice Review: Valentyn Vasyanovych's ‘Reflection’. deadline.com. 7 September 2021
- ^ Reflection | 2021 Venice Film Festival Review. ioncinema.com. 9 September 2021
- ^ "Війна тільки починається: "Відблиск" Валентина Васяновича — один із головних українських фільмів наступного року — Bird In Flight". 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
External links
- Reflection at IMDb
- Reflection at Rotten Tomatoes
- Reflection at Metacritic
- Reflection at DzygaMDB (in Ukrainian)
- Reflection at New Europe Film Sales