Cultural War:  “Porcelain War” serves as a reminder of the ongoing, tragic Russia-Ukraine conflict with a first-person view and beautiful drone cinematography 

On Nov. 17, one thousand days had passed since Russia began the conflict by attempting to invade Kyiv, a major Ukrainian city. 

Twenty-five thousand square miles of Ukraine has been lost. 

On Nov. 29, 2024, invasion anniversary, “Porcelain War,” an award-winning documentary covering the horrors of this ongoing war from the perspective of Slava Leontyev, a Ukrainian special forces veteran and his partner Anya Stasenko, has been released in theaters. 

In 2022, prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Leontyev and Stasenko lived in a rustic cottage in Crimea surrounded by artists and their friends. After the invasion on Feb. 24, they moved to war-torn Kharkyiv, just 25 miles from the border due to their unwavering loyalty to the people of Ukraine.

Leontyev, a passionate artist and special forces veteran, became co-director of this film after experiencing firsthand the effect that war can have on the culture of a country. His unique personality is a balance of two different disciplines — crafting porcelain figures and training his local citizens for battle. He volunteers part time as a weapons instructor to a small military unit of citizens called Saigon.

Leontyev and Stasenko create ornate porcelain figuriness inspired by Ukrainian culture and local folklore. Leontyev crafts the porcelain figurines by shaping them by hand and then firing them while Stasenko paints impressionistic features on each figure. The added detail of how the porcelain symbolizes the Ukrainian spirt — it damages easily but won’t break. This brilliant detail encapsulated the purpose of the film. 

As the film traverses across a year in the life of Leonytev and Stasenko, it glides over picturesque Ukrainian landscape contrasted by poignant shots of post-war wreckage. The contrasting imagery demonstrated the moral of the film — they could forfeit their sense of Ukrainian culture through a loss of ukrainian traditions such as the dying art of porcelain sculpting.

By using drones, co-Director Brendan Bellomo films these landscapes with differing mediums to make it seem as though you are handgliding through the Ukrainian countryside while simultaneously being reminded of the horrors that have eclipsed this beautiful country. 

It reminded me of the harsh reality that Ukrainian citizens experience daily. Whether it was Stasenko placing a porcelain owl on a wall decimated from the war or Leontyev carefully sculpting porcelain animals with sounds of gunshots and bombs emanating in the background, it illustrated what has long been forgotten by American citizens and media. 

According to the U.N, since 2022 at least 11,700 ukrainian citizens have been killed and the Russians have taken control over Avdiivka and Bahkmut, two major Ukrainian cities.

American media has shied away from the Russia-Ukraine conflict because there is nothing “new” or “interesting” that has happened. Leontyev and Bellomo used this film to demonstrate that the conflict has exposed Putin’s goal is to eradicate the Ukrainian people and spirit. Leontyev and Stasenko fight to keep their culture alive by continuing their delicate craft amidst a still raging war.

From the resilience of the Ukrainian spirit to the bond between Leontyev and Stasenko, this film reminded me of the hidden consequence of war — losing century long cultural traditions. It served as an alarming reminder of the continuous sacrifices Ukranian citizens have had to make over the course of this unfair conflict.