★★★★1/2

The best documentaries take us into spaces that we would not normally have access to. Sometimes, we understand why we have not had access, the realities simply prove too harrowing and horrifying.

20 Days in Mariupol is a devastating, stunning film, which utilizes footage gathered by a cadre of Associated Press reporters to present an unrelenting look at the effects of the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Instantly immersive, director Mstyslav Chernov and the journalists he is embedded with find themselves in Mariupol - a city that would be decimated by Russian forces over a 90-day period from February-May 2022.

Bombs, air strikes, civilians under siege - Chernov captured nearly all of the footage we see in the film and this is difficult at times to watch. The violence is real, uncensored, and one can only imagine what Chernov’s camera captured that was not included in the film. Yet, this is no snuff film or exploitative piece.

20 Days in Mariupol paints a grim, stern eye on war and what it means. Chernov’s intercutting of how the news media depicted the siege, coupled with the footage he gathered, underscores the santizing of reality that grows increasingly pervasive in our news media. One thought that came to mind while watching the film is how people claim that the media serves only to inflame situations and divide us, while Chernov shows us that in reality the media pulled back and didn’t accurately represent the abhorrent and awful realities facing the Ukrainian people at the launch of the invasion.

Whether Chernov intended to make a film on Russia’s initial attack on Ukraine as an indictment on the media, I’m not sure. What I do know is that 20 Days in Mariupol is a movie that proves impossible to forget.

20 Days in Mariupol was screened as part of the 49th Seattle International Film Festival and screens during the festival on May 12 and 19, 2023. The film will also be available on the SIFF streaming channel from May 22-28, 2023.