| Abstract [eng] |
This article analyses the visual testimonies and evidence of the war in Ukraine in Šarūnas Bartas’ feature film “Frost”, drawing on Elizabeth Cowie’s70 and Bill Nichols’71 theoretical concepts of testimony and evidence in media. Bartas’ war drama uses the conventions of fiction and documentary filmmaking to capture the aftermath of Russia’s illegal annexation of part of Ukraine in 2014, and the subsequent military action in Eastern Ukraine. The viewer does not see the apparent warfare, the clashes between Ukrainian Army and Russian troops or separatist fighters, but watches the testimonies of Ukrainian soldiers recorded on film and mobile phone cameras, and sees images of destroyed settlements, mined fields, front lines, etc., which prove that the war is indeed taking place and is leaving a strong effect on the lives of the Ukrainian citizens. The theoretical analysis of the concept of advocacy, as well as the genre and stylistic analysis of the film, leads to the conclusion that “Frost” is a political mixed-genre film about contemporary war, imperialist Russian policy and those who are targeted by it. Furthermore, its wide international distribution and the use of subtle, yet powerful, rhetorical devices make it an advocate for the Ukrainians and other Eastern European peoples who are experiencing the political and other forms of intervention and hegemony of their “big neighbour”. |
