“Sisters of Ukraine” is Resilience in the Face of War
The human spirit is far more resilient than many of us will likely ever realize. Resiliency doesn’t manifest merely in the form of self-preservation, but often in kindness. In seeing something wrong with the world around you and, using the means that you have, effecting change. That shows strength and resiliency, and offers a slap in the face to those who believe that humans, at their most basic level, are individualistic. The subjects in Mike Dorsey’s Sisters of Ukraine are proof that the lives of many can be changed by the courage, or the fear, of the few.
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II has erupted. As Russia’s bombing continues and grows in frequency, less and less of Ukraine is habitable. A lot of humanitarian aid is coming from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In Sisters of Ukraine, one NGO, Accio Familiar Barcelona, has plans to travel into Ukraine, where they will meet nuns at a convent who have been caring for displaced families. Two volunteers from the group will fly from Barcelona to Warsaw, then drive a bus into Ukraine to take the families to Spain so they can live there temporarily until the war is over. As the volunteers are driving, the bombing of the Kerch Bridge in Crimea escalates the war to an unprecedented level.
Courtesy of Sisters of Ukraine
Courage and fear are two sides of the same coin. They both force us out of our comfort zones, leading us to make rash decisions. War is often caused by fear, by people who are afraid of losing power or who are looking for a way to control a situation that’s beyond their capabilities. Courage is a response to this. It’s acting in spite of fear to bring peace to the world around them. Sisters of Ukraine is filled with people who show courage when every part of the world is crashing down around them. From the volunteers at the NGO to the nuns to the parents and children who traverse bomb-destroyed city blocks to get to somewhere safe. It is powerful to live when a country is trying their hardest to kill you.
In the same breath, though, this fight for survival isn’t one that should even have to take place. As one of the subjects in the film says, “We can’t get used to death…I am asking the world not to get used to war.” A world that’s used to war is one that is fundamentally broken. Sisters of Ukraine is an extraordinary feat of compassion, love, and resilience. It shouldn’t need to exist, but it’s miraculous that people like the nuns and the volunteers from Accio Familiar Barcelona are doing this work because they feel a calling. Whether it be religious or simply a belief that those with the means should do what they can, Sisters of Ukraine shows some of the best of humanity in the face of the worst.
Courtesy of Sisters of Ukraine
Toward the end of the film, one of the refugees mentions that they’re so thankful for all the help and support they’ve received, but they know there are millions experiencing a similar situation for whom relief is not on the way. Sisters of Ukraine is a plea for peace. The documentary manages to capture what daily life in Ukraine is like, where joyful, youthful chatter is regularly interrupted by bomb sirens. The cruel and true reality of life is that humans can get used to anything, but we shouldn’t. Sisters of Ukraine captures life at war and asks the audience to find where they can offer help of their own.
support your local film critic!
~
support your local film critic! ~
Beyond the Cinerama Dome is run by one perpetually tired film critic
and her anxious emotional support chihuahua named Frankie.
Your kind donation means Frankie doesn’t need to get a job…yet.
Follow me on BlueSky, Instagram, Letterboxd, YouTube, & Facebook. Check out Movies with My Dad, a new podcast recorded on the car ride home from the movies.