22/08/2022 - War takes the stage in this documentary by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, but it’s still too early for the curtain to fall

Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski’s documentary The Hamlet Syndrome [+see also:
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It’s not the most original, however, as the main concept here feels very familiar to something like Reconstructing Utøya [+see also:
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Still, what’s heartbreaking here is that while that other doc was all about finding closure, this time, there is no hope for it, really – at least not yet. The demons these people have been trying to exorcise returned in February, stronger than ever. It makes you wonder if the whole process has helped, or maybe it rendered them too vulnerable to face the same horrors again.

The actual play took place way before the 2022 events, but the feelings – one assumes – remain exactly the same today. “Anger” and “a hopeless situation” goes the participants’ list, and they might as well be reading today’s headlines. Then they add: “I am Hamlet because I am a feminist; I am Hamlet because I am from Donbas,” with Shakespeare’s most famous character suddenly reflecting so many different people’s pain or their sense of confusion. As always in these kinds of psychological exercises, some are more open than others, but everyone finds it hard to return to the things they would rather forget, with “to be or not to be” replaced by “to go or not to go?” Or by trying to decide if it would be better to leave Ukraine or to stay.

The directors do leave that emotionally charged room sometimes, allowing for glimpses into this group’s private life or welcoming other people who are just as hurt. In a way, The Hamlet Syndrome captures how frustrating this conflict must be for the entire nation, tired of fighting and asking for help for so many years now.

Interestingly, any talk of patriotism or a sense of duty is very bittersweet. In this film, so-called war heroes turn into “fucking heroes”, into people admitting they are not some “natural-born Rambo” and were dragged into violence that they have no desire or taste for. They share tales of cruelty, but also of what was hurtful or what was annoying, like comments about their gender. “Wow, a girl on the frontline? How exotic.” Female experience during the war is discussed at length, with one participant openly admitting that a grenade had always been reserved for her if she were ever captured. Maksym Nakonechnyi’s Cannes title Butterfly Vision [+see also:
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It’s an upsetting watch, overall, even though in most cases, the viewer doesn’t have to see what these people went through – they are just free to listen. A very important question is posed here, too: is there no other way of expressing your feelings for your country than by defending it? It would be interesting to hear what this group would say about it again in a couple of years’ time. When, here’s hoping, they will finally be able to get their closure. This time for good.

The Hamlet Syndrome was produced by Germany’s Kundschafter Filmproduktion GmbH and Polish outfit Balapolis.