Ukrainian journalist and filmmaker Yegor Troyanovsky has arrived in Sarajevo’s Documentary Competition with his second documentary, Cuba & Alaska [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], following its world premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest. Yet another film set on the frontlines and largely filmed with bodycams and smartphones, it stands out for its titular protagonists and their infectious zest for life, preserved against all odds.

Perhaps this is not so strange: we know that laughter is a powerful defence mechanism, as exemplified by the famous dark humour that stemmed from the Bosnian War. Cuba (Yulia) and Alaska (Olexandra) are combat medics with a small, mobile unit, and we first meet them in a portrait phone video, laughing, joking and singing against a background of explosions that are increasingly closing in on them. In the only interview of the film, edited more like soundbites than a fully fledged conversation, they sit in the back of a truck and explain their nicknames.

The film starts off on this high note, with Ukrainian pop, rock, disco and reggae songs and fast cutting by seasoned Belgian editor Joëlle Alexis, but the first act also includes scenes of the two medics’ blood-soaked work in muddy fields and cramped ambulance vehicles. A rare fixed-camera shot (four cinematographers are credited, with Serhiy Stetsenko as DoP) shows Cuba in a field, spiritedly giving first aid instructions to a unit soldier. Throughout the film, we witness how soldiers, with no real contact with their families or friends, find a substitute in their comrades. We also learn about Cuba and Alaska’s desires to get back to their passions: fashion for the former and illustration for the latter.

The upbeat intensity is cut off when Alaska gets hit by shrapnel in the thigh. As she goes to recover (if not enough weapons, Western aid has at least provided state-of-the-art hospital facilities, including a robot that will help her learn to walk again, and even equine therapy), Cuba goes to Paris Fashion Week with her “futuristic female warrior” designs, and from there, travels to Spain to visit her mother. The two will not reunite until the very end of the film, but they keep in constant contact via text messages that pop up on the screen. Then, the turns of events will force an unexpected, emotionally difficult, and almost fiction-like drama in the last act.

Even though Alaska’s injury has partly relegated her to the back seat of the action, Troyanovsky retains the balance between the two protagonists’ presence in the film. This creates a seesaw of both emotions and cinematic approaches, and the middle section has a more sombre tone, despite Cuba’s Paris outing. Alaska’s pain and frustration are a heavy counterweight, but the audience will also welcome the change of scene. The final stretch of the film proves once again that there is no escaping the war, but we don’t for one second think that the two medics would want it any other way, however much they dream of peace and going back to their old lives, which are gone for good anyway. The feature’s biggest achievement is exactly how it conveys this dichotomy and how it shows that despite their undefeatable spirit, they have been changed forever.

Cuba & Alaska is a co-production between Ukraine’s 2Brave Productions, France’s Tag Film and Belgium’s Clin d'oeil Films. Java Films handles the international rights.