The Ukrainian 'Pamfir' Enters The Guardian's Best Films of 2023 List
According to the British publication The Guardian, the Ukrainian thrilling, occult thriller "Pamfir" directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk has made it into the list of the best films of 2023, reports The Guardian.
Alongside the Ukrainian film, The Guardian's list of best recommended films included 37 other movies, amongst which are "The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan" by Marten Bourboulon, "Fabelmåne" by Steven Spielberg, "Return to Seoul" by Devi Chow, "The Son" by Florian Zeller, "Tar" by Todd Field and others.
"Pamfir" tells the story of a Ukrainian smuggler who works abroad to provide a better future for his family. Back home are his wife Olena and son Nazar. Thus, the man returns home and tries to establish a regular family life. However, a careless act by the protagonist's son sets off a series of events leading to tragedy.
"The film doesn't hint at the war between Russia and Ukraine, but perhaps this conflict is a subtext, in the sense of tribal loyalty, community traditions, and a clear, almost occult, draw to the West," writes The Guardian in its review of the film.
"It is one of the strangest and most brutal films I've seen recently: dynamic yet despairing," adds the review's author.
According to his opinion, the main character resembles a more diligent and restrained, although no less brutal, version of a character Emir Kusturica might have dreamed of.
The action takes place in Bukovina, in the eastern Carpathians bordering Romania. Perhaps this is why there's a pulsation of something unsettling and transgressive in the film, and in the anti-hero, a grotesque mob leader, something dreadful and hallucinatory.
The Ukrainian drama "Pamfir" won the Grand Prix of the International Youth Film Festival in Kyiv, awards at the Palić European Film Festival in Serbia, London's Raindance Independent Film Festival in the UK, Cairo International Film Festival in Egypt. The film was nominated for the Discovery of the Year Award from the European Film Academy and triumphed at the National Film Critics Awards Kinokolo.
The world premiere of "Pamfir" took place in the Directors' Fortnight programme at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Since then, the film has been screened at over 40 festivals in 25 countries worldwide.
The film was released in Ukraine on March 23.
From May 5, 2023, "Pamfir" was released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland.
And from June 22, "Pamfir" can be viewed on Netflix.
We remind you, a list of five films that will help you better understand Ukraine can be found here. "Pamfir" is also included."