Many Ukrainian citizens have been wrangling with the definitions of such concepts as democracy, autonomy, and justice ever since the conflict with Russia was first sparked in 2014. The film “Varta1, Lviv, Ukraine” is an undeniably authentic reaction to those questions. The film reposts the walkie-talkie conversations of the citizen law-enforcement group “Varta 1” in the city of Lviv. The group and their conversations began immediately after the city’s “Night of Fury” took place on February 18-19th of 2014.
The film itself does not capture events or picture any of the people mentioned in the walkie-talkie conversations; instead, it captures the discombobulating and slow scenes of the city. There are shaky shots of cars driving down highways, empty lots, graffiti, and many, many dilapidated buildings. The conversations over these shots involve the members of Varta1 reporting suspicious activity as they patrol and sending out stray bits of consuming news as Ukraine enters a new volatile era. However, many of the reports seem to lead to dead-ends. In one scene, somebody reports a group of suspicious men in smoking jackets, and another member tells him off for not recognizing that those are guests at a nearby wedding. The most threatening thing the vigilante group deals with is drunk people behind the steering wheel or fighting. Even when dealing with these minor cases, the group’s lack of cohesiveness shines through in their conversations. There are members who truly are working for the betterment of the city’s justice system, however their intentions of doling out justice in a proper way continues to fall on deaf ears. The film finishes with the group falling apart over a speeding Porsche Cayenne.
Overall, the film is more interesting as a document of that time than it is as a formal piece of cinema. The group tries to maintain a new order as their city finishes rioting, with bodies being sent back from the Maidan and Ukraine’s East begins to fall into chaos. Paranoia sets upon these men and women as they try to figure out what to do in their new positions. The long, unstable and blurry scenes of Lviv begin to make sense as they are seen out from within this uncertain fog.
The film itself does not capture events or picture any of the people mentioned in the walkie-talkie conversations; instead, it captures the discombobulating and slow scenes of the city. There are shaky shots of cars driving down highways, empty lots, graffiti, and many, many dilapidated buildings. The conversations over these shots involve the members of Varta1 reporting suspicious activity as they patrol and sending out stray bits of consuming news as Ukraine enters a new volatile era. However, many of the reports seem to lead to dead-ends. In one scene, somebody reports a group of suspicious men in smoking jackets, and another member tells him off for not recognizing that those are guests at a nearby wedding. The most threatening thing the vigilante group deals with is drunk people behind the steering wheel or fighting. Even when dealing with these minor cases, the group’s lack of cohesiveness shines through in their conversations. There are members who truly are working for the betterment of the city’s justice system, however their intentions of doling out justice in a proper way continues to fall on deaf ears. The film finishes with the group falling apart over a speeding Porsche Cayenne.
Overall, the film is more interesting as a document of that time than it is as a formal piece of cinema. The group tries to maintain a new order as their city finishes rioting, with bodies being sent back from the Maidan and Ukraine’s East begins to fall into chaos. Paranoia sets upon these men and women as they try to figure out what to do in their new positions. The long, unstable and blurry scenes of Lviv begin to make sense as they are seen out from within this uncertain fog.
