What Happens When You Take Everything From Someone

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MOVIE REVIEW
Sniper: The White Raven
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Genre: Drama, War
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 51m
Director(s): Marian Bushan
Writer(s): Marian Bushan & Mykola Voronin
Cast: Pavlo Adloshyn, Maryna Koshkina, Andriy Mostrenko, Roman Semysal, Oleg Drach, Roman Yasinovskyi, Oleg Shulga
Where To Watch: Releasing in select theaters and streaming VOD today.

You can only push someone so far before they’re forced too far. In short, the film directed by Marian Bushan shows a Ukrainian teacher who lost his peace and began to seek revenge to regain balance in his life. We follow this journey throughout the film and the one you can’t help but understand.

Bushan said this film is based on actual events, which truly breaks my heart. Seeing this man who tried so hard to remain a pacifist was pushed to the edge and beyond after seeing everything he knew in his life taken from him. Interestingly, the film is broken into two unique parts, with this tragedy that befalls Mykola (played by Pavlo Aldoshyn) being the breaking point and the causation that takes us to part two.

The film used colors and tone very well, telling the story via visuals throughout the film. Along with style, the film evolves as Mykola does. This is seen in every aspect of the filmmaking, from focus to camera angles. I think this is a unique storytelling device that many directors overlook. It can add so much to a film if it isn't done obnoxiously.

I think my biggest knock on the film was the slow burn aspect. While I understood what was being done, I think it ultimately hurt the viewing experience. At times I would begin to lose interest before being pulled back in. The director spoke on the psychological effects on Mykola and why these changes were so significant throughout the film. His battle against becoming the thing he detested and crossing that bridge made for such an important story element.

The final shot in the film is probably one of the strongest I’ve seen; it says so much without saying anything at all.

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