Maidan
Sergei Loznitsa’s Maidan is a film that achieves a visceral sense of immediacy by keeping its distance. Shooting from judiciously chosen vantage points, the director presents us with images of the 2013 Ukraine revolution, capturing the protestors as they gather in Maidan Nezalezhnosti, build barricades, sing and make speeches and, finally, fight and die for their cause.
Shot in a series of static takes, Loznitsa gives us little context to elucidate what we are seeing, instead allowing us time to let our eyes scan the packed frame and find telling details – if you can settle into its methodical rhythm then it grows into an immersive and rewarding experience. There’s one scene in which Loznitsa’s camera moves under duress (a moment comparable to Medium Cool’s “Look out, Haskell – it's real!” incident) but for the most part the director simply presents this conflict in the clearest terms possible, and asks us to bear witness.