A Ukrainian immigrant in the Czech Republic is unwittingly caught up in her teenaged son’s lie in this tense drama of flawed morality from director Michal Blaško.
Irina (Vita Smachelyuk) rushes to the hospital when she learns her son Igor (Gleb Kuchuk) has been attacked. Battered and bruised and barely conscious, Igor tells his mother and a police officer (Igor Chmela) that he was attacked by several Roma. The town is quick to support Irina and rally against the Roma community under the guise of being simply anti-violence. Meanwhile, Irina discovers too late that Igor lied about the attack and struggles with how to proceed as the situation spirals beyond her control.
Racism towards the Roma plays an important role in transforming the attack into a larger play for political attention and offers commentary on the dangers of societal unrest and prejudice. A friendly acquaintance becomes overbearing when he sets up a broadcast interview for Irina and organizes a march that evolves into a bigger rally attracting far-right hate groups. Irina herself displays racist attitudes towards her Roma neighbours even as she herself endures xenophobic attitudes from the Czech community as a Ukrainian immigrant. Irina tries to make amends when she learns her Roma neighbour’s son has been wrongly arrested in connection with the attack—but not if it means having to come clean about the truth of Igor’s incident.
As a Ukrainian immigrant, Irina faces many challenges and xenophobic attitudes as she tries to secure her family’s future. We learn she is attempting for a second time to get Czech Republic citizenship after her initial application was rejected on a technicality. She’s finally on the precipice of setting up a salon with a friend after working hard as a cleaner and saving money. We also watch as the police officer handling Igor’s case subjects Irina to biased questions that have no bearing on the investigation, such as how she came into possession of her money.
Understanding Irina’s situation gives us empathy for her fear in the face of Igor’s lie and her decision to maintain his story in the face of consequences that might include getting deported. At the same time, it’s difficult to watch as the lie takes on a life of its own and negatively impacts others; while Irina is suddenly showered with good fortune as the mayor takes a personal interest in helping her, a Roma kid wrongfully faces prison, and a rally in Irina’s and Igor’s names attracts hate groups including Neo Nazis. We want her to come clean, but the longer she waits, the more impossible it becomes. Even as she tries to mitigate the damage, it’s undermined by her commitment to the false narrative in the name of putting her family first.
Irina and Igor’s relationship and their individual stances on the lie evolve as the story progresses. The film nicely interweaves their storyline with the larger societal narrative as the community grabs hold of the situation. Flawed morality and manipulation present themselves in every layer, and we wait in suspense for someone to crack. The ending is bittersweet for both the audience and Irina as what should be a celebratory day is mired in guilt.
Written by Jakub Medvecký, Victim is a complicated tale of a mother torn between protecting her son and their insecure future, or coming clean and facing severe consequences. The film marks Blaško’s feature debut.
Victim premieres at this year’s Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section. The competitive category is dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends, with special attention to debut films, young talents, indie features, and lesser-known cinema. After screening at Venice, Victim will appear at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
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