2023 CAMDEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
The war on Ukraine still powers on, with families displaced and the world coming to their aid in a series of ways. Waking Up in Silence depicts the assistance that Germany is providing Ukrainian children who have been forced to leave their homes. In this former German military barracks the children play games and make friends, but they are also forced to face the truth about what is happening to their home.
There’s no reason to beat around the bush here: there are seemingly thousands of films (both narrative and documentary) that have come out in the last nineteen months dealing with the issues of Russia and Ukraine. The two have been at war since February of 2022–and the future of the dispute appears to be dismal; but do we really need another film about the issue? In short: no. Yet Waking Up in Silence exists nonetheless, telling us all about the struggles of Ukraine and their residents once more. To be clear, what is happening to this group of people is ridiculous and horrifying, but the content has become tired at this point.
Again, I don’t think there’s a need for Waking Up in Silence; I don’t think there is any reason to develop another film that showcases the horrific things taking place in Europe–but Waking Up in Silence approaches the topic differently, and it aims to tug on viewers’ heartstrings from the opening moments. Children and animals are surefire ways to reach viewers on an emotional level, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Writer-Directors Daniel Asadi Faezi and Mila Zhluktenko took this into consideration when developing the film. They do a wonderful job of reaching their intended viewers, and they do a wonderful job of sustaining that emotion from the opening moments until the film concludes. They effectively reach their viewers, and they know that once those viewers have bought in they aren’t going anywhere.
Faezi and Zhluktenko are meticulous when it comes to showcasing a series of unique visuals throughout the course of Waking Up in Silence. The point of the film, beyond showcasing the Ukrainian children, is expressing to viewers that these children are making unfortunate connections between the symbols in this German barracks and the terrible situation in which they currently find themselves and their country. It’s important that viewers are getting an appropriate view of these symbols and of the children’s experiences with them. Viewers get up close and personal with the things occurring throughout the film, and these filmmakers, including Director of Photography Tobias Blickle, find interesting ways to show viewers what the children are seeing. The film is almost fun in these moments, as we get to see through the eyes of the film’s subjects–and while most of what occurs throughout Waking Up in Silence is borderline horrifying, there are moments of beauty and levity strewn throughout as a result of the visuals.
Faezi and Zhluktenko throw themselves into a corner of the cinema that has been visited time and time again, nearly bled dry at this point. With that, they put themselves in a situation where they are tasked with finding a unique part of this corner of cinema that hasn’t yet been touched on. No, I haven’t seen every film that covers the Ukraine/Russia conflict–but I believe that this is a unique approach toward expressing to the world the difficulties of what is happening. Waking Up in Silence manages to separate itself from other films of the same genre, and it will likely appeal to most viewers–even the ones tired of the same old song and dance.
Written & Directed by Daniel Asadi Faezi & Mila Zhluktenko.
Starring Wadim Bekker, Alewtina Bekker, Natalija Bekker, Mariia Frosiniak, Uliana Adamenko, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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