Babi Yar. Context

Play trailer

Babi Yar. Context

2021

2h 1m

Documentary

History

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Read all reviews

Fontanka A

Brilliant work. A difficult but important journey into history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/16/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Sergei Loznitsa

Director

Sergei Loznitsa

Writer

Sergei Loznitsa

Producer

Danielius Kokanauskis

Film Editor

Sergei Loznitsa

Film Editor

Tomasz Wolski

Film Editor

Three Minutes - A Lengthening

100%

79%

Three Minutes - A Lengthening

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Three Minutes - A Lengthening

Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes

100%

87%

Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes

Ultraviolence

83%

%

Ultraviolence

Watchlist

Tantura

94%

95%

Tantura

Watchlist

Who Will Write Our History

94%

91%

Who Will Write Our History

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Who Will Write Our History

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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