Savagely cinematic, charged with feral energy and exploring a story that dances between muddy realism and a mythic, quasi-magical abandon, Pamfir would be impressive even if it hadn’t been made in Ukraine on the cusp of conflict. But the setting – the lawless, forested border country – and the snapshot of a moment just before the war tore through the region makes this doubly fascinating.
Reformed smuggler Pamfir (a wonderful, full-blooded performance from Oleksandr Yatsentyuk) returns to his village for the annual Malanka carnival after several years working abroad. But the criminal subculture of the region has a way of luring people back in, and after his teenage son misguidedly falls foul of a local mob boss, Pamfir decides to take on one last smuggling run to Romania.
It’s a bold, arresting debut from writer-director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, who balances muscular, crime-thriller tropes against moments of striking, unsettling beauty, tension and urgency against knottily complex character development. Highly recommended.
• This article and its subheading were amended on 7 May 2023. An earlier version said that Pamfir took one last smuggling trip across the border to Poland. This should have said Romania.