A disturbing and brutal delve into the dark and violent underbelly of military conscription in Belarus as seen from the perspective of the country’s much put-upon youth, Motherland offers a striking – and deeply prescient – analysis of a system of bullying and abuse borrowed from neighbouring Russia, and how it is reflected in the country itself. The film world-premiered at CPH:DOX 2023.
Belarusian directors Hanna Badziaka and Alexander Mihalkovich pull no punches, with the spine of their narrative concerning Svetlana, whose son Orlov Alexander Valentinovich was found dead after his conscription into the army.
The film opens in jingoistic fashion as young recruits in uniform swear allegiance to Belarus as their proud family watches on, before quickly switching to re-enactment as a young soldier writes to his mother on his third day in the army, admitting that no-one is there of their own free will and that there is “no way back”.
He recounts his time as a young recruit in a system where casual violence and abuse are second nature to those in charge. The older soldiers indulge a practice called ‘Dedovschina’…literally ‘reign of Grandads,’ whereby they rule with an iron fist.
The story is presented alongside footage of young Belarusians whose conscription to the army is imminent. They talk to men of a similar age who have already endured their stint in the military. Later in the film young recruit Nikita engages with his father on what life in the army will entail.
Talking to a friend, Svetlana describes her attempts to find out what had happened to her son, saying “all I have are photos of his head and strangulation marks on his neck.”
Plans are devised to prepare a class-action lawsuit, “So that they put up tombstones for our kids at least! And ensure they take responsibility for their actions…whether or not the hanging was done by the soldier himself or someone else. They take a kid into the army – they take responsibility,” says Svetlana.
The younger generation go to raves but are always aware that any moment the party could be over. But when huge protests break out on the streets of Belarus following the 2020 ‘re-election’ of dictator-president and Putin sympathiser, Aleksandr Lukashenko, there is a glimmer of hope and a promise of change. This merely fuels the increased brutality of the authoritarian regime as they clamp down on protests.
The young men muse over the possibility of protest, and what that might entail. But grim reality soon sets in. We see powerful footage from the pov of protesters as police attack; film of family members waiting outside bleak detention centres for brutalised protesters to be released; the sound of screams from those being tortured inside the buildings.
Motherland is an uncompromisingly stark film that looks at post-Soviet Belarus from the rarely seen perspective of a younger generation who both accept they can do little to escape conscription but who also, for a brief moment, see a glimpse of how life could be were Aleksandr Lukashenko to be toppled and the link with Russia to be broken.
It is a story that is still unfolding – especially given the country’s support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Co-directors Badziaka and Mihalkovich have crafted a touching but highly distressing film. Blessed with strikingly intimate and often visceral footage it is a tough but vital watch, rendered even more plaintive in the closing scenes as Svetlana finally dicovers the level of blame the military is prepared to assume over her son’s death…
Sweden-Ukraine-Norway, 2023, 92mins
Dirs: Alexandra Mihalkovich, Hanna Badziaka
Production: Sisyfos Film, Voka Films, Folk Film
International sales: Lightdox
Producers: Mario Adamson, Ashley Smith, Alexander Mihalkovich, Anita Norfolk
Cinematography: Siarheij Kanaplianik
Editor: Katiia Vushnya
Music: Yngve Leidulv Saetre, Thomas Angell Endersen
This review was first published in BDE after the film’s world premiere at CPH:DOX 2023.
