‘Butterfly Vision’ Review: A Ukrainian Soldier’s Lonely Struggle

In the relentlessly bleak army drama “Butterfly Vision,” Lilia (Rita Burkovska) is a Ukrainian drone pilot struggling to readjust to life on the house entrance after enduring months in captivity by the hands of Russian separatists within the Donbas area.

The story begins as Lilia makes the trek house, the place she tends to an array of keloid scars and a flood of disturbing reminiscences. She receives restricted assist from her anguished mom (Myroslava Vytrykhovska-Makar) and even much less from her husband, Tokha (Lyubomyr Valivots), an extremist militia member who appears able to accessing solely two frames of thoughts: seething rancor or violent rage.

This collection of upsetting occasions grows much more dire, although, after we be taught that Lilia was raped whereas captive and has change into pregnant in consequence.

From the outset, the director, Maksym Nakonechnyi, establishes a cinematic language that includes footage from numerous sources: livestream feeds, aerial drone video, broadcast news B-roll. Perhaps the movie’s most audacious alternative is to make use of the feel of those codecs — their lags, distortion and pixelation — when conveying Lilia’s every day torrent of post-traumatic stress. The impact is jarring, and feels much less like a window into her expertise than a brash digital camera trick.

But “Butterfly Vision” distinguishes itself in its setting. The movie was made earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and its story captures an early wartime section when attitudes towards the battle have been divided. In one scene, Lilia boards a bus and claims exemption from the fare due to her standing as a veteran. Vexed and disapproving, the driving force and passengers elevate a ruckus till she disembarks. The movie would possibly purpose to ship an aesthetic and emotional jolt, however it’s the mundane, interpersonal moments that linger.

Butterfly Vision
Not rated. In Ukrainian, English and Russian, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes. Watch on Mubi.