A brutally moving examination of the destruction Russia is leaving behind in Ukraine, When Spring Came to Buchasees filmmakers Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz enter the small Ukrainian city to film the devastation and optimism that defines the community after 35 days of siege and brutal combat that ended after the Russian military withdrew on March 31 2022.
Documentaries about the conflict have been offering various perspectives, but this film, which world-premiered at IDFA 2022, takes the astute decision to focus both on the reunion of the inhabitants with their damaged city, and on the first signs of new life alongside the arrival of Spring with signs of blossom in the devastated flora. As the members of the community start to rebuild their shattered homes they share their stories.
Among those followed are Liudmyla who is searching for her husband’s body; Yuri is fighting to ensure drinking water for the population, while Olenka is now the only child in her class at school after two of her classmates are killed. The filmmakers never rely on cinematic flourishes. Instead it is the human – and often deeply moving – stories that drive the film.
The structure therefore is appropriately straightforward, with the strength of the townspeople’s stories and interactions giving it a sense of intelligence, compassion and a link to the new beginnings that start to emerge from the rubble of the city. Bodies are still in the streets but a newlywed couple kiss in a car park; a group of men ready coffins; an older woman chats to a Ukrainian soldier while a family embrace that fact that they have somewhere safe to eat and sleep.
The underlying sense of resilience is what shines through as the community sets about doing the best with their lives. There may be a darkness alongside the cautious optimism but while it is almost incomprehensible to understand how wholesale death and mayhem can be dealt with, it is impressive to see a community begin the challenge of attempting to build again in a pragmatic and matter-of-fact style.
Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz do a remarkable and memorable job in making the humanity of these stories from Bucha rise above the awful horrors of the war, but it is the grim and brutal reality that this story could have been told in almost any town in Ukraine. Unfortunately, it is a story and a reality which doesn’t seem set for an ending any time soon.
Germany, 2022, 66mins
Dirs: Mila Teshaieva, Marcus Lenz
Production: Wildfilms
International sales: New Docs
Producer: Marcus Lenz
Cinematography: Marcus Lenz
Editors: Yevgenia Danilenko, Julia Wiedwald
Music: Dakha Brakha, Ganna Gryniva
