Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski’s documentary The Hamlet Syndrome [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
interview : Elwira Niewiera et Piotr R…
fiche film] – which world-premiered at the Krakow Film Festival and has just won the Grand Prix Semaine de la critique-Prix SRG SSR at the Locarno Film Festival – should easily rack up further festival outings. Focusing on a play that attempts to combine Hamlet’s existential conundrums with trauma that was – and still is – caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it’s timely, it’s simple, and it makes it very easy to feel for its characters.

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It’s not the most original, however, as the main concept here feels very familiar to something like Reconstructing Utøya [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], for example, where the young survivors of the infamous attack also took over an empty space with nothing but white lines on the floor, each showing exactly what they went through. One of them called it a “psychological workout”, and although it was interesting for a while, ultimately it suffered from the exact same issue as this film: it’s the kind of process that’s much more affecting if you take part in it instead of just watching.

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 [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Maksym Nakonechnyi
fiche film] showed exactly why captivity can be viewed as a worse option than death.

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.