Few are ignorant of the atrocities inflicted on the Jewish peoples during the Second World War, though much teachings received on the topic in academic institutions focus on Nazi death camps and concentration camps; a setting which is described as being removed from society rather than central to its inner workings and historical upheaval. Sergei Loznitza’s documentary “Babi Yar Context” shifts this viewpoint towards war-torn Ukraine in 1941, where upwards of 33,000 Jewish people were slaughtered on the city outskirts of Kiev. The two day long massacre inevitably altered the balance of the city, as the territory had previously been occupied by Jewish people, Ukrainians and Russians for centuries. The documentary aims to present the historical unraveling of the event in chronological order in an effort to stand unbiased towards the incident, providing the viewer with enough evidence to create their own interpretations.
On what marks the 80 year anniversary of the Babi Yar ravine massacre “Babi Yar Context” premiered this week for Cannes’ Special Screenings on July 11th as a type of commemoration piece for those lives lost. The documentary was commissioned by the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kiev, and produced by Atoms & Void. Sergei Loznitza, who has previously been showcased at Cannes Film Festival for six different films over the span of a decade, initially set out to create the film as a fictional piece; but as a consequence of the pandemic he instead used the archival footage he had been collecting to create this striking documentary. Composed of archaical videos and photographs, the documentary unpacks the timeline leading up to the Ukrainian Jewish population massacre in Kiev, starting with invasion and occupation to massacre and war crime trails.
The two hour historical documentary plays without any vocal commentary. Rather the film’s context is separated into historical time stamps indicating the progression of war time in the Ukraine. Without having commentary, instead having interjecting slides clarifying space and time, the viewer is given the information as a type of archival visual essay; this documentary style is similar to the presentations one may see when visiting a historical memorial museum or exhibit, images bombarding the senses with few flashes of narrative framing to allow room for thought and digestion of the deeply daunting and disturbing imagery.
Loznitza gathered his footage from a variety of sources, he stated he pulled his visuals from German archives, the Bundesarchiv, regional and private archives, and from Russian and Ukranian archives. In an interview with Screen Daily Loznitza said that the most interesting of the archival footage he managed to obtain was from work shot privately by German officers to chronicle their daily lives. As the film unfolds, and the societal ruling shifts between Soviet control and Nazi occupation, while the roots of Kiev are rapidly being torn up, the viewer is able to distinctly see the changes of both mood and which viewpoint the footage was taken from. To emphasize the expeditious social implications of the occupying forces within the city, Loznitzav uses contrasting visuals of immense hardship and brief relief when citizens are given touches of normality. The film zig zags between bombardments and fear, burning cities and perished bodies to celebration, and consolation; while there is never a moment of true peace or resolve in the film, there are a few fleeting moments of glimmering hope; parades of gratitude when new order steps in with the false promise of progress are matched with music and the unmistakable sounds of a child’s laughter to demonstrates the cities citizen’s absence of resistance to widespread change.
While the majority of the film plays with little to no dialogue, relying on the visuals and context slides to give the viewer space to untangle the complexity and gravity of chain of events caused by the unfolding of the second world war, it is in the final scenes where ambiguity is torn away and voice is given to the survivors of the massacre.
The shift from brutal footage of slain bodies, discarded belongings, and passively shocked bystanders, to heart wrenching testimonies filled with agency and urgency during the war crime trails, and public execution of Nazi’s responsible for the two day genocide leaves no room for displaced sentimentality. Loznitza stated “In the Soviet era, a monument was erected on the site of Babi Yar — a monument to “the Soviet people who perished”. What’s missing is the word ‘Jews’.” Babi Yar Context insured that the Jewish lives lost were remembered, and the atrocities were highlighted from all angles and from all people involved; from behind the gun, behind the podium, and behind the eyes of those on the sideline who stood idly by.
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.