Film review: War forces identity crisis on queer couple in Ukraine

A new feature film by German director Isabelle Stever and Ukrainian screenwriter Anna Melikova depicts the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, blending frontline events with a deeper story about identity and choices that once seemed less consequential in peacetime.

The story follows a recently engaged couple, Olya and Oleh. As bombing begins, they travel with Olya's elderly parents to western Ukraine to stay with Olya's sister, whose husband has enlisted in the army against her wishes. Oleh's plan is to leave Ukraine and settle with Olya in safety in Germany.

A difficult choice

The complication is that men aged 18 to 60 are barred from leaving Ukraine — but Olya and Oleh are a queer couple, and Oleh is a trans man, a fact he hasn't yet revealed to his future in-laws. To cross the border, Oleh considers denying his identity and presenting a psychiatric certificate that originally validated his transition, but could now be used to argue the opposite.

The review highlights a pivotal scene in which female Ukrainian border guards respond with scorn to Oleh's attempt to avoid conscription, telling him he should stay and be the man he wanted to become.

The film also depicts other identity conflicts triggered by the war, including a market scene where a Russian-speaking woman faces hostile silence and subsequent violence after someone demands she speak Ukrainian. Meanwhile, Olya's sister is furious and near breaking point after her husband left her alone with their baby to join the fighting.

The reviewer describes the film as well-shot, well-acted and uniquely challenging, showing how war forces characters to confront belief systems they once considered settled.