Cannes 2025 | "Militantropos" Uniquely Examines Life Amongst War

11/12 ForReel Score | 4.5/5 Stars

After the impactful film This Rain Will Never Stop, Ukrainian filmmaker Alina Gorlova reunites with Yelizaveta Smith and Simon Mozgovyi to once again capture images that take us through a repetitive cycle between war and peace. Filmed in Ukraine, the filmmakers approach people with a sensitivity that focuses solely on spaces marked by the tragedy of the conflict with Russia. They document the transformation of the inhabitants—people who once lived normal lives before the war—into militants, hence the title Militantropos.

The documentary avoids the traditional and typical conventions of the genre, creating an emotional journey through its visuals, which depict destroyed buildings, melancholic faces, and a pervasive sense of sadness enveloping the Ukrainian people. As she did in her previous film, Alina Gorlova places herself amidst the fire and smoke of bombings to starkly portray the causes and effects of war. The cinematography by Viacheslav Tsvietkov—who has previously worked with Gorlova and also on the award-winning documentary Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom—looks intently at soldiers, at those who were forced to flee, and at those who stayed behind to live through a horror driven by love for their country. Discussions and conversations about whether to hide or fight gradually emerge throughout the documentary.

Explosions and gunfire accompany what seems to be a life that goes on despite the hardships Ukrainians face. Some continue running their businesses and working; others help those around them. Meanwhile, children keep playing war with toy guns, as a real war rages above their heads.

Militantropos is an honest portrait from filmmakers who live this tragic reality every day. From military training sessions with civilians and anonymous funerals, to missile debris scattered across a farm while a man harvests, and songs that attempt to drive away the pain: these are scenes of a war that coexists with the everyday. In one sequence, we see teenagers forcefully kicking rubble and the remains of Russian tanks in Kyiv, while in the distance, the bombing between Russia and Ukraine continues—and shows no signs of stopping. As one of the film’s intertitles states: “Militantropos chooses to accept war as the one and only option to exist.” This has become a way of life in Ukraine.