I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming (2026) NYFF 2026

 

There is a moment about five minutes into the film when one of the characters shifts their gaze from tombstones and looks into our souls. It's a simple shot, with nothing special, but the look is delivered with such intensity that it made me talk out loud. It was the moment where I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING grabbed me by the throat and pulled me in. I was willing to go wherever the film was going to take me.

I say this up front because even if I RARELY WAKE UP FREAMING wasn't as good as it was, this was one of the few festival films I have seen this year which made me feel connected and part of the film. Too many films of late have lost their connection to the audience and to humanity, that when you find something special like this you want to hold on to it and treasure it.

Set in the days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the early days of the war, the film begins on New Years Eve when Oleh receives his new passport which lists him as male, his transition to male now complete. As talk at the party spirals into talk of an impending Russian invasion Oleh and his girlfriend Olya retreat. However, when the invasion comes the pair must navigate what to do and how to handle the situation since Oleh can now be drafted.

Based on the true story of the director's friends, I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING is more than a queer story of the war. While the people at the center are queer, they are also human. What happens to them is a story for everyone. It is new look at Ukraine, and war, that hits home and hits hard because having Oleh and Olya at the center forces us to consider what we are seeing. We see war and the war in Ukraine in new and deeper way. The pain we feel when Oly screams about wanting to break her husband's legs so he cannot serve is very real. We feel deep in our gut what it is like to be in a country at war and wanting to protect the thing you love at any cost.

More importantly the film also speaks volumes about being queer in a society that doesn't really understand or accept it. Being a straight male I don't feel fully qualified to speak on certain areas of the film, but I was rocked by the characters' anguish that results from living in a society and with loved ones that didn't fully understand who they are. One does not need to be queer to be an outsider, and the film uses that on that to make those of us who are straight better understand what Oleh and Olya are going through.

This is a stunning achievement that will make you feel and connect to life and the world.

Highly recommended.

Brief thoughts on My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile (2026) NYFF 2026

The press screening of MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS EXILE for the the New York FIlm Festival came the day after Donald Trump banned news organizations he viewed as not being loyal to him from the White House. I mention this because several writers walked out of the screening early because they viewed the film as now happening here.

Picking up two days after the film, the film follows the reporters from the first film as they flee Russia rather than be arrested and go to prison. The film then follows the reporters as they try to make new lives and still report of Putin's war.

If you saw the first film you will want to see this film.  If you haven't seen the first film you will want to see that film and then see this one. 

This is another great film about the evil that Putin is unleashing in the names of maintaining control of Russia.  Its a deeply moving human story where we are fully invested.Its also a film that is a dire warning as to what may happen in Donnie Trumps America.

I really can't say much more than that. I don't mean to be coy, but if you saw the first film, you know exactly what you are getting here. For me, as with the first film, I realized early on that this film should have been screened in chapters (press screenings for the theatrical release are doing it in two blocks). Taking it in as a six hour block is overwhelming, if not crushing. There is simply too much to take in and process. I wish I had seen it in chapters... which is what I am going to do when I next sit down and watch both parts.

As I said above, a great film- see it.

The Last Message (2026) Chain Film Festival

Kelsie Kimberlin travels to Ukraine to pay tribute to her cousin who was killed fighting the Russian invasion of the country. She travels the country seeing for herself what the Russians have done, seeing how the Ukrainians have responded and paying tribute to her lost cousin.

THE LAST CALL frustrates me. Containing some of the best “you are there” footage in any documentary I’ve seen on Ukraine, it is packaged with a lot of slick material that comes off wrong.

The best part of the film are the sequences where we see Kimberlin talking to various Ukrainians and showing what the Russians have done. The words and images in those sequences are moving. Having seen several dozen documentaries of the invasion it was nice to see something that didn’t feel recycled.

The thing is that the film has one problem that works against the film.

The problem is that as much as the film is about Ukraine, the war and the cousin lost to the fighting, the film also is very much about Kimberlin.  She is almost always front and center looking perfect and she is always giving us her opinion about what we are seeing. There are times you will wonder what the film is about, the people of Ukraine or the young lady from America who seems to be important since President Biden writes her a letter of condolences. It wouldn’t be bad, but Kimberlin comes across as incredibly plastic with everything she says over wrought and overdone. She is bleeding all over the place with her love for the Ukrainian people and it comes off not only as disingenuous but also as almost silly propaganda.  I don’t say that lightly. I say that because after seeing dozens of Ukraine docs, this is the first time I have ever felt that I was watching something that was amped up and need to make the Russians out to be bad guys despite it being clear. This is not a documentary so much as an influencer trying to put themselves into the Ukraine conflict and let us know that war is bad.

Despite the moving moments, this is not recommended.

I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming (2026) Locarno 2026 NYFF 2026

 

There is a moment about five minutes into the film when one of the characters shifts their gaze from tombstones and looks into our souls. It's a simple shot, with nothing special, but the look is delivered with such intensity that it made me talk out loud. It was the moment where I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING grabbed me by the throat and pulled me in. I was willing to go wherever the film was going to take me.

I say this up front because even if I RARELY WAKE UP FREAMING wasn't as good as it was, this was one of the few festival films I have seen this year which made me feel connected and part of the film. Too many films of late have lost their connection to the audience and to humanity, that when you find something special like this you want to hold on to it and treasure it.

Set in the days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the early days of the war, the film begins on New Years Eve when Oleh receives his new passport which lists him as male, his transition to male now complete. As talk at the party spirals into talk of an impending Russian invasion Oleh and his girlfriend Olya retreat. However, when the invasion comes the pair must navigate what to do and how to handle the situation since Oleh can now be drafted.

Based on the true story of the director's friends, I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING is more than a queer story of the war. While the people at the center are queer, they are also human. What happens to them is a story for everyone. It is new look at Ukraine, and war, that hits home and hits hard because having Oleh and Olya at the center forces us to consider what we are seeing. We see war and the war in Ukraine in new and deeper way. The pain we feel when Oly screams about wanting to break her husband's legs so he cannot serve is very real. We feel deep in our gut what it is like to be in a country at war and wanting to protect the thing you love at any cost.

More importantly the film also speaks volumes about being queer in a society that doesn't really understand or accept it. Being a straight male I don't feel fully qualified to speak on certain areas of the film, but I was rocked by the characters' anguish that results from living in a society and with loved ones that didn't fully understand who they are. One does not need to be queer to be an outsider, and the film uses that on that to make those of us who are straight better understand what Oleh and Olya are going through.

This is a stunning achievement that will make you feel and connect to life and the world.

Highly recommended.

Animals in War (2025) opens Friday

ANIMALS IN WAR is a multi-part film made up of short films focusing on animals in the Ukraine Russia war. All are nominally based on true stories. Each story is made my a different filmmaker.

This is an uneven affair. Some of these stories are better than others, with the film's desire to have each film make a point not always working, the opening film with Sean Penn mixing the sound on footage of an eagle when war breaks out is the most pointed and is there to simply provoke a reaction. Others, like the story of a cow wandering in the landscape, or another about a rabbit that gets lost  work better.

The animals represented in the film are an eagle, a cow, a rabbit,a dog (this is heart breaking tale), fish, a goat and cats.

While I don't think any of the pieces are bad (which is a rare thing in anthology films) I don't think the films being togethe  help them all to shine. There is an expectation that their being together represents and I'm not sure that that all work together as well as they would seperately. I don't mean that as a knock, but more that their being together doesn't let each tale breath the way it should.

Worth a look for those who are interested.

Viktor (2024) opens tomorrow

Deaf man who loves samurai films  wants to fight for his home land Ukraine after the Russian invasion, but his lack of hearing keeps him out of the army.

Moody expressionistic black and white cinematography mix with a soundtrack put together to mimic Viktor’s hearing to make a film that plays more as a cinematic essay than documentary. It’s a hypnotic and compelling viewing experience that is even more so in a darkened theater with no distractions.

The problem is that as a documentary the subject gets overwhelmed by the presentation and there comes a point where you want the cinematic tricks to stop and just focus on Viktor. I’m not certain if the film tells us enough or not because there are some facets to this story about which I want to know more and others aspects we get to know too much. The film doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be.

While I think the film is worth a look for the presentation It’s not a must see.

To The Victory (2025) Toronto 2025

After the war in Ukraine a filmmaker tries to figure out what to do stay, or join his family elsewhere in Europe. His wife and daughter like it better in Vienna and don't want to come home. The promised it will all be better after the war doesn't seem to be happening.

A low key, comedic look at life after the big thing is a goodlook at making do with our expectations for the future. What are we supposed to do when what we thought would happen, doesn't?  

The film plays out in long  sequences with the camera just observes. We are in the room with the characters as things play out. This makes for some interesting moments (the opening sequences for example) where things are given a different bend then they might have had there been cuts.

I liked the film.

Checkpoint Zoo (2025) open Friday

CHECKPOINT ZOO is the story of the Feldman Ecopark which is just outside of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Being outside of one of the targets for Russian forces invading the country mean that the parks 5,000 animals were in the direct line of Russian bombing.  As most of the 1000 employees of the park ran to safety a small contingent returned to work to try and keep the animals safe.

Easily one of the best and most moving films at this year's Tribeca, CHECKPOINT ZOO is a film you need to see sooner than later. Even if you don't like animals the tale of how a few people fought and died to keep these animal safe will fill you with awe. Its the story of how people made do with nothing to make sure that everyone and everything was as safe as possible.

Twenty minutes into the film all I could think about was telling everyone I know about this film. This was a film that people need to see.

What moved me about the film was it is telling a story of war we never hear. Yes we hear about what happens to the people but what happened to the animals?  Its a story no one ever really talks about until well after the fact. A blood brother to last year's film SEARCHING FOR NIKA which followed the filmmaker as he tried to find his parents' lost dog among the shelling and ended up rescuing dozens of pets and other animals he met along the way, CHECKPOINT ZOO reminds us that there are  still good people out there. It more importantly reminds us that we have a responsibility to the creatures we choose to keep, especially when they have been brought far from their natural home.

This film will amaze you from the first frame to the last. It will also move you to tears as you are forced to contend with a side of war that most people never consider.

Highly recommended, this is just a film that you will want to see repeatedly.

CUBA AND ALASKA (2025) Sheffield 2025, Brussels international FIlm Festival and Munich International Film Festival

By the time we realized we were supposed to be afraid it was too late. - Alaska

This is the story of two friends, Alaska, so named because people think she is as cold as ice, and Cuba, nicked name because growing up they thought she was from Cuba. When the war in Ukraine started they took up being medics. They work together to keep each other sane  and alive.

This film is not what you expect. It's a film that doesn't behave like any typical war/Ukraine documentary. This is a glorious celebration of life and of friendship. It's the story of two women who are trying to do the right thing and still live their lives. 

Made up of a combination of body cam footage, cellphone video and footage shot by the film crew this film puts us into the action in ways that pretty much no other Ukraine doc has. This is not a world of gloom and doom, but is instead something much more complex. Life is going on outside the war zones, even if the war hangs over everything.  Its a film that reveals the situation in Ukraine to be much more complex.

I was knocked back on my heels by this film. It did not do anything I expected it to. It went all over the place into unexpected places and it made be rethink how I think about not only the war, but all war and the reporting about them.

This film is wonderful. I love that it is not conventional and forces us to truly engage with it.

Highly recommended.

CUBA AND ALASKA  played the Sheffield INrernation Doc Fest, is currently at  the Brussels International Film Fest and will be at the Munich International Film Festival June 29 & 30 and July 4

Animals in War (2025) Tribeca 2025

ANIMALS IN WAR is a multi-part film made up of short films focusing on animals in the Ukraine Russia war. All are nominally based on true stories. Each story is made my a different filmmaker.

This is an uneven affair. Some of these stories are better than others, with the film's desire to have each film make a point not always working, the opening film with Sean Penn mixing the sound on footage of an eagle when war breaks out is the most pointed and is there to simply provoke a reaction. Others, like the story of a cow wandering in the landscape, or another about a rabbit that gets lost  work better.

The animals represented in the film are an eagle, a cow, a rabbit,a dog (this is heart breaking tale), fish, a goat and cats.

While I don't think any of the pieces are bad (which is a rare thing in anthology films) I don't think the films being togethe  help them all to shine. There is an expectation that their being together represents and I'm not sure that that all work together as well as they would seperately. I don't mean that as a knock, but more that their being together doesn't let each tale breath the way it should.

Worth a look for those who are interested.

MILITANTROPOS (2025) Cannes 2025

Militanropos of the the title refers to the state  people adopt when entering the state of war.  The film is a look at the people of Ukraine as they fight the Russians and fight with themselves simply to survive.

Made up of a series of visually stunning images that place us into Ukraine in a way that Have never experienced in the dozens of documentaries that I have seen on the war. The images are both stunningly beautiful and heartbreaking. The result is the film gives us a sense of the country that I have never seen before.

I have not seen anything like this on a movie screen-this needs to b seen as big as possible  though I suspect it would be crushing in IMAX.

You need to see this. I find it hard to say more than that, not because I am being lazy, but rather this film is very visceral. The mix of sound and image move us on a level beyond words. Just go see this.

Hands down it is one of the best films on the fiasco in Ukraine and 2025 that I've seen.

Highly recommended.

TIMESTAMP(2025) NDNF 2025

This is one of the must see films at this year's New Directors New Films. It is a look at the lives of school kids in Ukraine during the war. It is a telling portrait that would make a great double feature with the companion film MR NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN, which shows how schooling changed in Russia once they went to war.

This is a film where we focus on the kids. While there are signs of war (we see the aftermath) and we see air raid warnings sending everyonh of the human spirit. We to shelters, the war is on the outside.  Life is being lived as it has always been, but with some modifications.

A deeply moving work, TIMESTAMP shows us the strength. Yea the kids are being affected by war, and it is rattling their cages, but at the same time there is laughter and life. As a result there is hope.

I was moved. 

if you want, or if you need a film about Ukraine that is more than destruction and will not leave you broken, see TIMESTAMP.

SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH (2024) First Look 2025

This is an observational look at the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We watch the people try to sort out what was happening, their flight to safety and the damage that resulted.

This is a low key film of just observation. It's a beautifully told film that just shows us what the early days of the war was like.

The trouble is that I can't really review this film. My feelings are much too wrapped up in the fact that I have seen too many other films on the Ukraine war. The film is similar to other films (INTERCEPTED, FREEDOM ON FIRE, RULE OF TWO WALLS, IN THE REARVIEW among others) in looking at the early days of the war. While the film is very good on its own terms, I've seen a few too many films on the early days of the war. 

That said, this is probably the film people should see first.

This is very good and recommended for anyone who is interested in what is happening in Ukraine.

Twin Fences (2024) Slamdance 2025

Nominally this is director Yana Osman's exploration of a certain fence made in the former Soviet Union. The truth is this is a cinematic journey that is essentially a 90 minute digression during which she explores the places she lived and life over the last few decades.

If that doesn't make sense don't feel bad. There is probably nothing I could ell you about this film that will prepare you for what it is. That's not a bad thing. It is in fact a very good thing  because it means no matter what I say you will be surprised.

This film at first confused me because I had no idea what it was doing and then I just was so intrigued that by the time I got to the end I wanted it to keep going because I was having so much fun just riding around.

What an absolute joy

All films should result in the audience sitting there in wide eyed wonder traveling where ever the director goes,

In all honestly I can't say anything about this film other than just see it because that is the only way to do it justice. 

One of the great discoveries of 2025. See it where you can.

Mr Nobody Against Putin (2025) Sundance 2025

This is a frightening film about the road to the fall of a society. The film charts the change in Russian schools after the war with Ukraine started and all of the lessons became scripted speeches set to tow the Putin line and make sure everyone was okay with the way Putin was doing things. To make sure it was being done authorities insisted that the lessons be recorded.

This is a chilling film about how the mad Russian leader and friend to the current US president is doing things in Russia. It’s a film about the death of free thought and all freedom as the party line id fed to the masses word for word.  This film will frighten you because we are damn close to it happening here in the US with the far right leadership insisting on getting rid of anyone one who doesn’t think or act as they do. Yes some of this is funny for a bit but there is a point where it all catches in your throat.

Highly recommended.

DOC NYC Capsule Reviews: The Crimes of Putin Edition: THE BASEMENT and AFTER THE RAIN: PUTIN’S STOLEN CHILDREN COME HOME

THE BASEMENT
400 residents of the Ukrainian village Yahidne we round up and forced to stay in a basement for a month. as the Dead were stacked up in a corner like wood, the residents waited to find out their ultimate fate. Freed they tell their story for the camera as we listen to the words from a diary written during captivity with the expectation it would be found after everyone was dead. A slap in the face film, this is a you are their document of war crimes committed by Russian Soldiers. It is also a moving look at how people can survive terrible things and come out on the otherside.
Recommended.

AFTER THE RAIN: PUTIN’S STOLEN CHILDREN COME HOME
The children of Ukrainian parents stolen by the Russian army and rescued are sent to a farm in the country in order to decompress and begin the healing process. Low key doc  about the trauma of war quietly sneaks up on you and hits you over the head. While things seem largely okay at the start we quickly realize that isn't the case and we watch as the healing begins. This is a small gem of a film.

THE PORCELAIN WAR (2024) DOCNYC 2024

Ukraine is like porcelain, you can break it but you can’t destroy it.

A look at Slava, Anya and Andrey, three artists who are still in Ukraine fighting the Russians and still making their art- small porcelain figures that they create and leave in various places.

The pair works in porcelain because the material is nigh indestructible. Yes it breaks but you can repair it and clean it up even after millennia. Their medium is a message.

A beautiful and loving film about the human spirit in trying times this is a wonderful portrait of life in Ukraine that is counter to al the other death and destruction films. Here we see how much life there is. It’s something that is going to come as a revelation to many people who see the country as bombed out.

I was moved.

I have to mention a brief animated sequence near the end of the film that usesAnya's art. It’s a glorious little tid bit that is pure cinematic magic. I would love to see her designs as the basis for a whole film.

See this film

FRONT ROW (2024) DOC NYC

Ballet dancers from Ukraine come together in Denmark in order to form a dance company.  While they are feeling guilty for fleeing to safety, they are using their art to  bring awareness to the conflict and the tragedies that are unfolding back home.

This is a good little film about the power of art to heal in the time of war. It’s another in a growing line of films about how art is helping to keep the spirits of Ukrainians afloat.

If I were to quibble I would ask that the film be a bit longer. While we get a good amount of dance in the film, I wish we had gotten even more time with the dancers and their families. Still it’s a quibble and the film is worth a look.

Intercepted (2023) opens Friday

The weight of what we see and hear in INTERCEPTED will crush you. While the film is not graphic in a typical war documentary, the weight of the words will pulverize your soul.

The film is footage of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people after the Russian invasion. We watch as they go through their daily routines in a country at war. Yes, we see the destruction, but also, we see children playing, the people repairing damage, farming, driving. Everything that people do in peaceful time. Over the images we listen to the intercepted cellphone calls that Russian soldiers made to their loved ones. They speak of the terrible things that they have done and experienced in the war. We also listen to them have very human conversations about their lives as well.

The mix of life and death is jarring. At first it kind of seems a clever game, and then the enormity of what we are seeing and hearing begins to hit home and root itself in our souls. The unseen violence begins to carve us up. The sadness that it brings weighs us down. You will become confused as you realized that one group of humans sees another as less.

I did not expect my ass to be kicked this badly.

In an age when we are flooded with films on Ukraine to the point that many blend together, INTERCEPTED stands out and reveals itself to be one of the best films on the war and the tragedy it has brought.

Recommended.

VIKTOR (2024) Toronto 2024

Deaf man who loves samurai films  wants to fight for his home land Ukraine after the Russian invasion, but his lack of hearing keeps him out of the army.

Moody expressionistic black and white cinematography mix with a soundtrack put together to mimic Viktor’s hearing to make a film that plays more as a cinematic essay than documentary. It’s a hypnotic and compelling viewing experience that is even more so in a darkened theater with no distractions.

The problem is that as a documentary the subject gets overwhelmed by the presentation and there comes a point where you want the cinematic tricks to stop and just focus on Viktor. I’m not certain if the film tells us enough or not because there are some facets to this story about which I want to know more and others aspects we get to know too much. The film doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be.

While I think the film is worth a look for the presentation It’s not a must see.