Volcano
Roman Bondarchuk / UA, DE, 2018 / 106 min.
In this darkly humorous, absurdist road trip, an interpreter becomes stranded in southern Ukraine where he discovers an anarchist parallel world. The vast steppes near the Crimea prove to mysteriously defy all rationality.
A satiric road movie, Volcano immerses viewers in a captivating exploration of the South Ukrainian landscape, where the protagonist's journey unfolds amidst a backdrop of bewildering absurdity. Lukas, an OSCE interpreter, becomes marooned in the vast steppe region near Crimea, an enigmatic and ambiguous space that defies rational laws and creates the realm where reality co-exists with absurdity.
The traveller himself has an ambiguous identity: although he is coming from Kyiv, Lukas is constantly mistaken for being German due to his name and professional engagement with the international organisation. With its evocative portrayal of the natural setting, the film elevates the South Ukrainian landscape into a character of its own.
Programmers of the Future
Volcano is part of the program Not a Map But a Trace: Former Soviet Land Reclaimed, curated by Programmer of the Future Kseniia Bespalova. This program features films that follow alternative visual geographies of the former Soviet Union. By highlighting the damaged landscapes that preserve the historical memory of the oppression, these films reclaim them from the hegemonic narratives of state socialism. Ultimately, denouncing the dangers of the imperial imaginary, the program highlights the necessity for renewed modes of cross-border connection and communication.
First cohort
This summer, three Programmers of the Future present their first film programmes in Eye. They are part of the first cohort of a traineeship for future film programmers, set up by Eye in 2022.
This is part of
Details
Director
Roman Bondarchuk
Production year
2018
Country
UA, DE
Original title
Вулкан
Length
106 min.
Language
Ukrainian, English
Subtitles
ENG
Format
DCP
Part of
Programmers of the Future 2023
This summer, three Programmers of the Future present their first film programmes in Eye Filmmuseum. Programmers Janilda Bartolomeu, Korée Wilrycx and Kseniia Bespalova are among the very first to take part in Eye’s talent development programme for future film programmers, set up in 2022. The programme will feature cinema from the African diaspora that counters the notion of a singular reality, female artists on masculinity and alternative visual geographies of the former Soviet Union.
Share your love for film and become a member of the Eye Society.