Review: Honeymoon at IFFO

Synopsis
No one is ready to wake up once from explosions outside with no plan, no life perspective anymore. Trapped under occupation in their apartment, a couple discovers fear, despair, love, and hope.

Early in 2022, in a small town near Kyiv, Teras and Olia are newlyweds moving into their new apartment. After a modest celebration with a few friends, they go to bed and wake up to the sound of explosions. They find themselves trapped in their apartment with no electricity, water, or internet.

Shot in Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion, director Zhanna Ozirna makes use of one location, simple staging, very little camera movement, and wide locked-off shots to draw the audience’s attention to what’s going on within the frame.

When the Russian forces move into their building the couple is forced to be silent and careful about every move they make to keep their presence a secret. This aspect reminded me of John Krasinski’’s A Quiet Place.

“I heard this story from a friend of mine. And then from another friend. And then I read a similar story in the news,” says Ozima in her director’s statement. “I went to all these people and recorded their fresh memories about the events. I wanted to understand how my neighbours and my friends lived through the experience of occupation but also to adjust the story to my own personal feeling of the war—what challenges my generation faces right now, what choices we are forced to make, and how we rethink the usual value system.”

She goes on to mentions that it was a moral and ethical choice to shoot in Ukraine because many families are still living under occupation. “It was also a very practical choice, because a big number of Ukrainian film professionals lost their jobs due to the war or were mobilized into the army. It was our small contribution to the sustainability of the industry.”

Honeymoon screened at the International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO) on March 14. The festival continues until March 23. Check out iffo.ca for more information and for tickets.

More info & links:

• Director: Zhanna Ozirna
• Cast: Ira Nirsha, Roman Lutskyi
• Honeymoon on IMDB

Jith Paul

Web Designer, Editor, Film Reviewer

Jith Paul is an independent filmmaker based in Ottawa. While pursuing a career as a software engineer, he decided to take a detour to follow his passion for film and filmmaking, establishing Treepot Media in 2010.

He operates Treepot Spark, is a co-founder of the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, and is the editor of the film613 blog.

When he is not busy fighting crime, he coordinates the efforts of an international team of software developers and service providers as the Team Lead for Digital Development at CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel.

jithpaul.com