Cuba & Alaska

Bluesky

Yegor Troyanovsky’s documentary is the latest from Ukraine to take us to the frontline of the war with Russia. He embeds us with medics Yulia and Olexandra – known as Cuba and Alaska to their friends. Body cameras put us on the ground with the pair and their comrades, capturing not only the immediate and deadly nature of the conflict but also the gallows humour and camaraderie their unit employs to help get them through it.

A sense of mortality is an ever-present, as one of them says in a typically dry humoured moment, “This war could be over soon, but not the way I want.” Like the recent 2000 Meters To Andriivka – which also screens at Sheffield DocFest – this is a tough watch that highlights the unpredictable nature of war. Troyanovsky immerses us in the pair’s world, not just through watching their day-to-day work but via phone calls and text messages which we see pop up on the screen. While Troyanovsky doesn’t shy away from the visceral nature of the conflict as we see Cuba and Alaska help stricken soldiers, the film is edited by Joëlle Alexis in ways which, while raw, keep the focus on the people involved rather than the injuries they are dealing with.

Just as we are getting to know Cuba and Alaska as a team, Alaska is badly hurt so that the film effectively splits in two, continuing to follow Cuba while also charting Alaska’s difficult rehabilitation. Perhaps inevitably, because of the slow and painful nature of Alaska’s fight back, the emphasis then falls more on Cuba and her life both on and away from the battlefield. Troyanovsky effectively captures the tension between these two elements as we see how Cuba’s dreams of fashion designing are being sidelined by her work as a medic. Paradoxically, an opportunity also comes her way, no doubt in part because of this dichotomy – a prompt to think about the way that war twists its way into everyday experience.

Cuba has the sort of sunny personality that makes her instantly likeable and which ensures we feel every beat of the difficult emotional journey she takes in this film. Troyanovsky also communicates the mental toll that comes with being away from the frontline, not just for those who have been in active service, like Alaska, but also parents and family. This is brought home via the video calls we see being made with loved ones and through a bittersweet visit Cuba makes to see her mum, who has relocated to Spain since the conflict began.

Troyanovsky joins the ranks of Ukrainian documentaries paying testimony to lots and resilience in the face of aggression.

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