Not many people are familiar with the word “Holodomor.” Not in the same way that we’re familiar with the word “Holocaust.” But a genocide is a genocide, even when kept secret. The truth is that up to 10 million Ukrainians died in a man-made famine in 1932-1933 under Josef Stalin’s singular brand of Communist fascism: He crushed Ukrainian resistance and attempts at independence by demanding every last speck of grain from “The Bread Basket of Europe” and denying foreign aid. The regime claimed the deaths were caused by “malnutrition,” and the truth about the Holodomor wasn’t known until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 2003, it was finally acknowledged by the United Nations.
Written, directed and produced by descendants of Ukrainian immigrants in Canada, “Bitter Harvest” sheds new light on this underreported genocide — there have only been a couple of films made about the Holodomor. Shot on location in Ukraine right before the 2013 rebellion in Maidan Square, “Bitter Harvest” is a heartfelt family drama and stirring love story set against political machinations and crushing oppression.
Max Irons stars as Yuri, a romantic young man from a rural village who wants nothing more than to make art and marry Natalka (Samantha Barks), the young woman he’s loved since childhood. He’s torn between city life in Kiev, where the Communist party seeks brilliant young minds, and the increasing pressure at home, where farmers are being forced to collectivize by the brutal Commissar Sergei (Tamer Hassan).
“Bitter Harvest” is a melodrama. The emotions and plot points are heightened, extreme, even overwrought at times — the symbolism is heavy-handed. Writer Richard Bachynsky Hoover, who single-handedly put the project (his first screenplay) together, prioritizes text over subtext, having characters speak the themes and motivations aloud instead of allowing them to remain under the surface.
The film is deeply enamored — almost to the point of distraction — with Ukrainian culture and folk traditions, both aesthetically and narratively. It makes for a stunningly beautiful film (it was shot by frequent Kubrick collaborator Douglas Milsome), that, coupled with its operatic story, feels far from realistic. That sense of unreality pervades the performances at times too. It’s nitpicking, but many of the actors use their native British accents, which are incredibly distracting in a film that celebrates Ukrainian nationalism with such cultural authenticity, down to the Cossack hairstyles and marriage traditions.
It’s remarkable that “Bitter Harvest” was made at all — especially in a Ukraine that continues to struggle for independence. It has taken some deeply invested outsiders to bring this tale to the big screen, illuminating the atrocity that Stalin tried to cover up, and that many still don’t know exists.
MOVIE REVIEW
“Bitter Harvest”
Grade: C
Starring Max Irons, Samantha Barks and Barry Pepper. Directed by George Mendeluk.
Rated R for violence and disturbing images. Check listings for theaters. 1 hour, 43 minutes.
Bottom line: A stunningly beautiful film about an actual event that has a sense of unreality
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