Social Drama / Movie

Once Upon a Time... in Ukraine

Logline

A mosaic drama about the inhabitants of a city block: their small joys, monotonous weekdays, and eternal hopes for the better, as well as the dependencies and vices that hide behind every window. Today begins their last dawn. But will they make it to sunset?

Main Idea

This is a feature-length social drama with a mix of black satire and tragic irony. The action unfolds in a typical Soviet-era Ukrainian neighborhood: monotonous five-story buildings and high-rises, faceless courtyards, shabby entrances, the rumble of minibuses, the clamor of the market, the cold of the supermarket. The time is the present, living in the shadow of war.

The film is structured as a mosaic of human destinies. The camera wanders from one home to another, peering into the windows: here's a young family that has just moved in; lonely mothers with different fates; old people living out their age; teenagers rebelling against their parents; students and workers exhausted by the gray routine; local alcoholics and homeless people who are slowly fading away. They are almost strangers, only occasionally crossing paths in the courtyard, in a queue, or in the stairwell.

A special accent is placed on an apartment in the building across the street, where a young dreamer lives with his girlfriend. He smokes roll-ups, washes down his cigarette with morning alcohol, and loves to listen to music — he tries to escape from reality into his own fantasies.

We are awaited by scenes that show everyday life: from school lessons that bring on boredom, to a difficult, hot workday. Already in the first frames, we see the main character in a supermarket, as well as a brazen "I'm a mother" who cuts into the line, and this small scene immediately returns him to the mundane reality he's so desperately trying to escape.

Thus, step by step, a single picture is formed — an environment familiar to everyone. The scenes intertwine, sometimes causing laughter, sometimes cutting to the quick, highlighting poignant issues to lead the viewer to the finale.

Finale

As evening falls, an air raid siren sounds. In the apartments, their own micro-world exists: family arguments drown out the sirens, someone, ignoring the danger, turns on their favorite TV show, while someone else frantically gathers their belongings for the bomb shelter. Different reactions, different fates that intersect in one moment.

In the building across the street, the main character, wearing headphones, smokes and stares into the sky, seeing off the last rays of the sun. His girlfriend says something, but he doesn't hear. She puts out her cigarette, also puts on headphones, and silently takes his hand. They meet gazes, nod, kiss, walk over to a table with alcohol and two equal portions of pills.

At that moment, a rocket hits the building across the street, leveling it to the ground. They don't hear the explosion, but the vibration shakes the building they are in. They look out the window and see a true hell — flames and chaos that swallows the neighboring house. They smile sadly with tears in their eyes, unhurriedly return to the table, swallow the pills, wash them down with alcohol, sit by the window, and light up cigarettes.

He remembers: "Because you won't get into heaven from suicide." They take each other's hands and cut their wrists lengthwise. The headphones play: Pixies — Where Is My Mind? (or something similar).

The camera exits their window and slowly pulls away, while the song plays in the background. First, it shows the chaos and fire. Then — other buildings, other apartments: but the same old arguments, endless scandals, corrupt officials who count money, poverty, eternal conflicts.

Although it would seem that everything should already be clear, what is needed to live a little more comfortably. The camera rises higher and higher, as if escaping from this world, leaving the city in eternal darkness.

Message

This film leads to the conclusion: the tragedy is not only in wars, but also in the people themselves. The system suffocates the younger generation, offering the same slave chains, but under different words, symbols, and flags. Life seems terrible and hopeless. Wars have been and will be, and you are just a small cog in the mechanism of a slave-owning democracy.

Inspiration

Details

Under Construction …

I'm looking for resources and time to bring these ideas to life. If you know where to find support — write to me!