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5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't cross this crossroad without stopping to seriously study!, May 23, 2008
This review is from: Crossroads - Ukraine and the Triumph of Democracy (DVD)
An Official Selection at the Philadelphia Documentary & Fiction Festival 2006 and the Asheville Film Festival 2006, `Crossroads--Ukraine and the Triumph of Democracy' is a DVD deserving acclaim and attention as it records Ukraine's historic steps leading to her embrace of democracy. Cities where this film has screened include: Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles and London.
Alaya Productions, which is dedicated to producing stories about people as told from and through their personal experiences, is an independent documentary production company. And, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, Oleh Shamshur, states, in part, on the back cover of the DVD that one of the most important objectives that diplomats have is to show the human face of their people, their land, their traditions, their nation--and this thoughtful film accomplishes exactly that.
In this one-hour feature documentary, events are portrayed via the archival black and white film footage (from the 1920's-30's) of Aleksandr Dovzhenko (Dovzhenko Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine), CTB Television, Kyiv, and CNN Image Source; still photography of Yuri Kosin (`Through the Eyes of Ukraine'); and, interspersed interviews given by six Ukrainians (Oksana Bazylevych, Stephan Bublyk, Ruslana Lyzhichko, Yevhen Horokhivsky, Margaryta Kostiuk and Tymofii Mahoniok). Not only is Ruslana interviewed, but her music (`Wild Dances') is also used, as is the music from `Ukrainian Melodies' (Rostok Records). Glimpses from the Orange Revolution include original footage.
The narrator speaks slowly, granting the gravity and importance to the subject matter that it greatly deserves. This 2007 Alaya Productions documentary takes us on Ukraine's journey in quest of democracy. Since Ukraine was on the crossroads of the ancient trade route between Europe and Asia, she fell at the crossroads of those well-traveled corridors. Ukraine was the most coveted land for centuries with her temperate climate, abundant natural resources, and a soil of unequaled fertility.
The road to democracy is mapped out visually and from a perspective that clearly illustrates the journey--en route to the destination of democracy, we start at the beginning. Over her 1,500 years of recorded history, at one time or another, the Mongols, the Ottomans, the Vikings, the Poles, the Lithuanians, the Austrians and Hungarians, the Germans, and the Russians have claimed Ukraine's land for themselves. We follow Ukraine's footsteps to her ultimate destination--democracy.
Not only does this documentary present thought-provoking commentary along the way, but it also presents photos and films that are unique to this presentation. Definitely a five-star plus!
Addendum: Readers, you're invited to visit each of my reviews--most of them have photos that I took in Ukraine (over 600)--you'll learn lots about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The image gallery shows smaller photos, which are out of sequence. The preferable way is to see each review through my profile page since photos that are germane to that particular book/VHS/DVD are posted there with notes and are in sequential order.
To visit my reviews: click on my pseudonym, Mandrivnyk, to get to my profile page; click on the tab called review; scroll to the bottom of the section, and click on see all reviews; click on each title, and on the left-hand side, click on see all images. The thumbnail images at the top of the page show whether photos have notes; roll your mouse over the image to find notes posted.
Also, you're invited to visit my Listmania lists, which have materials sorted by subject matter.
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