Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015)

Touches You

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I found this Ukrainian documentary film on Netflix, the only reason I wanted to see it originally was because of its Oscar nomination, I knew nothing about it, apart from that it was a serious subject matter. Basically the film focuses on the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine during 2013 and 2014. It started with peaceful student demonstrations for the support of European integration, but then it turned into violent revolution and a full-fledged civil rights movement, calling for President Viktor F. Yanukovich to announce his resignation. The conflict lasted for ninety-three days, but many similar small wars are still occurring in European countries, with many deaths and casualties continuing. The filming is all from the perspectives of the public cameras on the scene and the many televised news reports, it is shocking to see the amount of blood and death for what was supposed to be peaceful, I admit having to read the subtitles was a little annoying, but it got my attention, and it is an interesting controversial documentary. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Documentary. Worth watching!

The documentary follows the uprising in Ukraine and the everyday people involved in the event. The viewer is presented with a time line of the main clashes between the government forces and the protesters. The idea and the inspiration of the people is a main theme of the documentary, but also a black and white narrative. The good side is the revolutionists and the bad side are the ones trying to stop them. Of course there are aggressions by the government forces and misbehavior from both sides, which is clearly presented in the film. Nevertheless what is not presented is that this revolution is a political event which has two sides that have opinions that cannot be regarded as right or wrong.The viewer doesn't get ANY viewpoint of the oppositional mindset and everyone standing with the government are presented as thugs or paid aggressors. This unfair presentation made me loose interest in the film, because getting both sides of the story is a vital part of documenting history. I was actually standing more on the protesters side when hearing about the revolution in 2014, but also acknowledging that there were people with more conservative views and that only a fraction of all Ukrainians were in Maidan square, protesting. How the filmmaker regards the revolution as "the will of the people" in this regard is unclear. Because of this I consider the "documentary" more of a emotional stigmatization, e. a. political propaganda, of a political viewpoint, with its heart touching music in just the right moments rather than a correct account of the uprising in Ukraine in 2014.

Winter on Fire is about Ukrainians and their idealism and bravery. it puts you there on ground with activist for one and half hour. the Director and his team makes you feel like they are actual war correspondents. and the in between conversation with the people who witness this event in actual in truly inspirational.The brutality of Berkut(Ukrainian force) is totally intolerable in the documentary. but the Courage of Ukrainians will always motivate you that the Power in United with People and No buddy Not any Government can defeat it by use of any Force or by Violation.The Documentary is punctiliously researched, and deeply jolting account of the Ukrainian people's uprising. Must Watch.

An excellent collection of video and comments are crafted into an elegant telling - without narration - of a grassroots struggle for dignity on the main square ("Maidan" in Ukrainian) in the capital. This violent but uplifting drama is easily the best of the Maidan documentaries released thus far. Don't miss it. This film raises two very misunderstood facts about the Ukrainian revolution.First, the "re-vo-lu-tion" was triggered not by the government's reversal about joining the EU but by the brutal dispersal on Nov. 30 of peaceful pro-EU demonstrators. The next day saw the "march of the millions" protesting the president's decision to assault a non- threatening group composed mostly of college students. "Euromaidan" lasted only 10 days. On December 1 a nation arose - again peacefully - and "strong men came out to declare that no one will ever hurt children in this country." Second, protesters did not "topple" the president. Victor Yanukovich was legally removed from office by vote of the national parliament (Rada) after he fled the country. He knew that he would face criminal charges for his actions, not to mention the mind-boggling level of corruption in his government.Because this story is told by the participants - through their words and images, with excellent subtitles - it will appear to some as "biased." But a "counter-balanced" documentary would be difficult. The chronology and video testimonies are incontrovertible, and gathering opposing perspectives will be difficult because participants are unavailable. Yanukovich and his cabinet ministers are internationally wanted criminals granted asylum in Russia after they stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the country they bankrupted (the reason the government was seeking aid from European Union). The Berkut ("eagles") also mostly fled to Russia, although some later were photographed participating in the Russian takeover of Crimea.The film's portrayal corresponds with my experience during a visit mid-January. People of all social and economic backgrounds were living cheerfully under democratically established rules, chief of which was a ban on all alcohol. The "Maidan Village" was described in a London newspaper under the headline, "Ukrainians Teach Their Leaders How to Govern." Present were people from all regions, including the Donbas and Crimea. More than one-third of the people on Maidan spoke Russian as their primary language. The myth of divisions over language and ethnicity are a concocted pretense for Kremlin attempts to regain control of region called "Little Russia" for more than a century before the birth of the Soviet Union. This documentary invites you to see and meet these ordinary people and experience their extraordinary story.