“The Robin Hood-style epic that’s a surprise hit in wartime Ukraine
By David L. Stern and Kostiantyn Khudov November 1, 2023 at 1:00 a.m. EDT
KYIV — A rousing action drama set in 18th-century Ukraine about a legendary Robin Hood-like figure has struck a nerve in the country and become the breakout hit of the fall, with its themes of national self-determination and the struggle against invaders.
“Dovbush” has broken box office records and has been seen by more than half a million people and earned close to $2 million — a princely sum for Ukrainian cinema — making it the second-highest-grossing Ukrainian feature film since independence in 1991.
“It’s Ukraine’s ‘Braveheart,’ ” said Daniel Bilak, a Canadian living in Ukraine who is one of the movie’s producers and whose family came from Ukraine.
The movie tells the story of Oleksa Dovbush, a historical figure shrouded in myth and the subject of numerous folk songs and stories. “Dovbush” is an opulent tale of love, violence and betrayal set against the backdrop of castles, 18th-century villages and breathtaking Ukrainian landscapes.
Serhiy Strelnikov portrays the titular Oleksa Dovbush. (Pronto Film) Dovbush fought against the Polish gentry — who at the time ruled over his region of western Ukraine — and would swoop down from his lair in the Carpathian mountains with his band of “opryshky,” or outlaws. The money he took from the landowners, he then gave to the poor peasants — at least according to local legends.
It is the country’s first homemade blockbuster, running two hours, with a record-breaking budget (for Ukraine) of some $5 million.
Bilak said the film “caught a wave.”
“I think is quite phenomenal that we’ve had this success during a war, although we’ve probably had this success because we’re in a war,” he said. “I always believed in the success of the movie. I just I think that the size has sort of taken me aback.”
The popularity of “Dovbush” provides a window into Ukraine more than a year and a half into Russia’s brutal invasion. It is a nation that is still up for watching movies and in need of a diversion, but also hungers for narratives that reflect the country’s fight for existence.
The movie has also become entwined in the war effort itself, given the power of its message and the emotions it elicits — which hasn’t been lost on Ukrainian officials. Bilak said that more than 12,000 soldiers had seen the movie in different spots around the country — sometimes in open fields near the front line — in showings organized by Ukrainian officials.
The timing of the film’s release was accidental, according to the movie’s makers — and it nearly didn’t get distributed at all. Filming ended in July 2021, while the conflict with Russia was still limited to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The next year, with February’s full-scale invasion, the premiere set for May was postponed until the war’s eventual end.
But director Oles Sanin, who co-wrote the film, said he convinced distributors to finally release it, because more than a year into the war, Ukrainians had already experienced a “spiritual victory.” Story continues below advertisement
“The film is about hope, the film is about heroes who are very relevant now,” Sanin said, shortly before a showing at a veterans’ hospital in central Kyiv. “The importance of this picture is enormous and the relevance is huge, so we decided to release it now.”
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Cos of the paywall
“The Robin Hood-style epic that’s a surprise hit in wartime Ukraine
By David L. Stern and Kostiantyn Khudov November 1, 2023 at 1:00 a.m. EDT
KYIV — A rousing action drama set in 18th-century Ukraine about a legendary Robin Hood-like figure has struck a nerve in the country and become the breakout hit of the fall, with its themes of national self-determination and the struggle against invaders.
“Dovbush” has broken box office records and has been seen by more than half a million people and earned close to $2 million — a princely sum for Ukrainian cinema — making it the second-highest-grossing Ukrainian feature film since independence in 1991.
“It’s Ukraine’s ‘Braveheart,’ ” said Daniel Bilak, a Canadian living in Ukraine who is one of the movie’s producers and whose family came from Ukraine.
The movie tells the story of Oleksa Dovbush, a historical figure shrouded in myth and the subject of numerous folk songs and stories. “Dovbush” is an opulent tale of love, violence and betrayal set against the backdrop of castles, 18th-century villages and breathtaking Ukrainian landscapes.
Serhiy Strelnikov portrays the titular Oleksa Dovbush. (Pronto Film) Dovbush fought against the Polish gentry — who at the time ruled over his region of western Ukraine — and would swoop down from his lair in the Carpathian mountains with his band of “opryshky,” or outlaws. The money he took from the landowners, he then gave to the poor peasants — at least according to local legends.
It is the country’s first homemade blockbuster, running two hours, with a record-breaking budget (for Ukraine) of some $5 million.
Bilak said the film “caught a wave.”
“I think is quite phenomenal that we’ve had this success during a war, although we’ve probably had this success because we’re in a war,” he said. “I always believed in the success of the movie. I just I think that the size has sort of taken me aback.”
The popularity of “Dovbush” provides a window into Ukraine more than a year and a half into Russia’s brutal invasion. It is a nation that is still up for watching movies and in need of a diversion, but also hungers for narratives that reflect the country’s fight for existence.
The movie has also become entwined in the war effort itself, given the power of its message and the emotions it elicits — which hasn’t been lost on Ukrainian officials. Bilak said that more than 12,000 soldiers had seen the movie in different spots around the country — sometimes in open fields near the front line — in showings organized by Ukrainian officials.
The timing of the film’s release was accidental, according to the movie’s makers — and it nearly didn’t get distributed at all. Filming ended in July 2021, while the conflict with Russia was still limited to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The next year, with February’s full-scale invasion, the premiere set for May was postponed until the war’s eventual end.
But director Oles Sanin, who co-wrote the film, said he convinced distributors to finally release it, because more than a year into the war, Ukrainians had already experienced a “spiritual victory.” Story continues below advertisement
“The film is about hope, the film is about heroes who are very relevant now,” Sanin said, shortly before a showing at a veterans’ hospital in central Kyiv. “The importance of this picture is enormous and the relevance is huge, so we decided to release it now.”
Was anyone able to find where to stream it?
Next do a modern twist on Olga of Kiev.
paywall so 🤷♂️🖕