Maidan (2014 film)

Maidan (Ukrainian: Майдан) is a 2014 documentary film, directed by Sergei Loznitsa. It focuses on the Euromaidan movement of 2013 and 2014 in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Ukraine's capital Kiev. It was filmed during the protests and depicts different aspects of the revolution, from the peaceful rallies to bloody clashes between police and civilians.[1][2]

Maidan
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySergei Loznitsa
Produced bySergei Loznitsa
Maria Baker
CinematographySergei Loznitsa
Serhiy Stetsenko
Mykhailo Yelchev
Edited bySergei Loznitsa
Danielius Kokanauskis
Production
company
Atoms & Void
Distributed byUnited States:
The Cinema Guild
France:
ARP Sélection
Release date
  • 21 May 2014 (2014-05-21) (Cannes)
  • 12 December 2014 (2014-12-12) (USA)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryUkraine
Netherlands
LanguageUkrainian

The film premiered on May 21, 2014 at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[3] It had a theatrical release in the United States on December 12, 2014.[4]

Synopsis

The film explores and follows the protests and violence in Kiev's Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) which lead to the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Releases

After its premiere at Cannes, the film had a theatrical release in France on May 23, 2014. The film was released in Ukraine on July 24, 2014.[5] It had a limited release in US on December 12, 2014 before expanding world wide on February 20, 2015, which coincided with the date of the revolution in Ukraine.[6] As of April 2018, the movie had not yet been shown in Russia.[7]

Reception

The film has received positive reception from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of 24 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.91 out of 10.[8] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the film holds an average score of 86, based on 9 reviews, indicating a 'Universal acclaim' response.[9]

Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and said that "[t]his stunning, epic-scaled film harkens back to the heroic, journalistic roots of documentary-making and yet feels ineffably modern and formally daring."[10] In his review for Variety, Jay Weissberg wrote that "In contrast with most documentaries made in the wake of an historic event, "Maidan" will last beyond the current Ukrainian upheaval to stand as compelling witness and a model response to a seminal moment too fresh to be fully processed."[11] Lee Marshal, reviewing the film for Screen International, said that "[e]ven in the midst of the molotovs, Loznitsa's sincere and memorable document retains its fascination with those small details that make us human, and make democracy worth fighting for."[12] Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice called it "Easily the most rigorous, vital, and powerful movie of 2014, Sergei Loznitsa's Maidan may be a perfect Bazinian cinema-machine - reality is captured, crystallized, honored for its organic complexity, and delivered unpoisoned by exposition or emphasis."[13] Andrew Pulver, in a review for The Guardian, stated: "[i]n some ways it's perfect, in its Eisenstein-esque refusal to compromise on the idea of the crowd as the key participant. In other ways, though, its sternness hampers it."[14]

Howard Feinstein of Filmmaker Magazine wrote that "Maidan is gorgeous if stark. It never crosses the line into aestheticizing the revolution, the suffering and brutality that come along with it. Its artfulness stems from obsessive precision. You register Maidan just as you do the well-known paintings of horror from, say, the Spanish Civil War and the French Revolution: Not an interpretation, but an artwork capturing the truth of a historic moment."[15] Daniel Walber of Nonfics, called the film "a portrait of a people, a place and a moment rather than a dissertation on its context or implications. It is raw, unflinching cinema for a troubled nation in a great and terrible moment."[16] Oleg Ivanov of Slant Magazine gave the film three out of four stars, writing that "[i]t puts the viewer inside Maidan, allowing them to draw their own conclusions about the ideas and agendas espoused by the movement's leaders and participants."[17]

Literature
  • Lilya Kaganovsky Review of Maidan // Slavic Review. — 2015. — Vol. 74, iss. 4. — P. 894–895. — DOI:10.5612/slavicreview.74.4.894.
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References
  1. "Documentary 'Maidan' polarizes participants in Ukraine revolution". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  2. "Inside 'Maidan': Sergei Loznitsa on His Ukrainian Uprising Doc and Putin's 'Fascist' Regime". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  3. "Cinema Guild Picks Up 'Maidan,' Sergei Loznitsa's Cannes Doc About Ukraine Revolution". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  4. "MAIDAN opens on Friday, December 12 exclusively at FSLC for one week only". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  5. "DOCUMENTARY "MAIDAN" BY SERGIY LOZNYTSYA WILL BE RELEASED IN JULY". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  6. "Dogwoof Take UK Rights For Ukrainian Doc Maidan". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  7. "Director Sergei Loznitsa on Russia: 'It's hard to change the mentality of a nation'". Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  8. "Maidan (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  9. "Maidan (2014): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  10. "'Maidan': Cannes Review". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  11. "Film Review: 'Maidan'". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  12. "Maidan". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  13. "Maidan Reveals a Ukrainian Uprising -- and the Crackdown". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  14. "Cannes 2014: Maidan review – an unblinking look at Ukraine's history in action". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  15. "Never the Twain Shall Meet: Maidan". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  16. "'Maidan' Review: A Grand, Unflinching Epic of the Ukrainian Revolution". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  17. "FILM REVIEW". Retrieved January 9, 2015.
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