Babi Yar. Context

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Babi Yar. Context

2021

2h 1m

Documentary

History

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89%

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18 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

On September 29-30, 1941, Sonderkommando 4a of the Einsatzgruppe C, assisted by two battalions of the Police Regiment South and Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, and without any resistance from the local population, shot dead in the Babi Yar ravine in the north-west of Kiev 33 771 Jews. The film reconstructs the historical context of this tragedy through archive footage documenting the German occupation of Ukraine and the subsequent decade. When memory turns into oblivion, when the past overshadows the future, it is the voice of cinema that articulates the truth.

Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

The dual nature of Babi Yar. Context as both an essay movie and a cut-up historic document might create an uneasy tension with viewers who would like to know more about whatever theyre looking at.

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 1, 2022

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A.O. Scott

New York Times

The past that Loznitsa excavates casts its shadow on the present. Knowing about it won’t make anything easier, but not knowing can make everything worse.

Mar 31, 2022

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Clayton Dillard

Slant Magazine

Sergei Loznitsa continues to mine the archives for what amount to living documents of a past that, as is all too clear, reverberate into the present with devastating force.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 28, 2022

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Alessandra Rangel

InSession Film

While its footage is historically invaluable, Babi Yar. Context is an urgent reminder of human callousness and the cruelty that we need to avoid at all costs.

Mar 8, 2023

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Glenn Dunks

The Film Experience

Such is the complexity that Loznitsa brings. It isn’t just a matter of one evil, but rather the seemingly endless cycle as a pawn of continued evil that plagues the nation.

May 4, 2022

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Nora Lee Mandel

Maven's Nest

Unique, extraordinary, and essential archival evidence on the dark shadow that Ukraines 20th century history casts over the country today, despite being a bit long, slow, and confusing.

Rated: 9/10

Apr 2, 2022

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Fontanka A

Brilliant work. A difficult but important journey into history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/16/24

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Sergei Loznitsa

Director

Unknown Actor

Actor

Sergei Loznitsa

Writer

Sergei Loznitsa

Producer

Danielius Kokanauskis

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Sergei Loznitsa

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Synopsis

On September 29-30, 1941, Sonderkommando 4a of the Einsatzgruppe C, assisted by two battalions of the Police Regiment South and Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, and without any resistance from the local population, shot dead in the Babi Yar ravine in the north-west of Kiev 33 771 Jews. The film reconstructs the historical context of this tragedy through archive footage documenting the German occupation of Ukraine and the subsequent decade. When memory turns into oblivion, when the past overshadows the future, it is the voice of cinema that articulates the truth.

Director: Sergei Loznitsa
Producer: Sergei Loznitsa, Maria Baker-Choustova
Screenwriter: Sergei Loznitsa, Sergei Loznitsa
Production Co: Atoms & Void, Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center
Genre: Documentary, History
Original Language: Ukrainian
Runtime: 2h 1m