Returning home from the front line after being held captive for two months, soldier Lilia discovers that she is pregnant after being raped by her warden. Will she manage to survive this trauma and save the child in a society that is not ready to accept them?
“Butterfly Vision” certainly has incredible timing for its relevant subject matter, dramatizing the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Set in 2014 during the Donbas conflict, Lilia (Marharyta Burkovska) is an aerial reconnaissance expert (drone operator) who was recently held as a prisoner of war in the contested Donbas region bordering the two warring nations. Upon being released via a prisoner swap and sent home, Lilia experiences fractured traumatic memories that come piercing through. These memories are shown through disturbing cellphone footage and surreal images.
As Lilia struggles with adjusting to post-war life, her husband Anton, a fellow soldier, is angry over his inability to protect his wife during the conflict and the deaths of their fellow squad members in combat. Anton is incapable of providing materially and emotionally for his wife, so he joins a militant right-wing party. Just as violence continues raging on, Lilia receives life-altering news.
For the most part, writer/director Maksym Nakonechyni avoids the nuances underlying the geopolitics of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and interestingly, he chooses to dissect some of Ukraine’s domestic issues like the poverty that allows soldiers and civilians to become barbaric, ultimately sowing the seeds of fascism. I only wish the second act went deeper into the right-wing party. While the Ukrainian filmmaker is undoubtedly patriotic, his film does not come off as jingoistic. This year’s Cannes Awards winners have not been announced, but I would bet “Butterfly Vision” will be a contender.
“Butterfly Vision” was an Official Selection of Un Certain Regard at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival
