Donbass Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Donbass Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 26, 2019

Sergei Loznitsa's "Donbass" (2018) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment/Montage Pictures. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. Also included with the release is a collector's booklet featuring an essay by film writer Jason Wood. In Russian, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Protecting the Motherland

If you have already seen Sergei Loznitsa’s latest film, Donbass, and your take on it is that it is about an unjust war, you have completely missed its point. I am sorry, I have to be blunt because this is actually a popular take, and because some of the coverage that the film has received in the West and supports it is in fact embarrassingly poor. Though, to be fair, this isn’t exactly a surprising development because we are living in an era when narratives are far more important than facts. Naturally, unorthodox eye-openers, like Donbass, have to be ‘explained’ and promoted to the public in a way that supports the ‘right’ narrative.

The action is set in Eastern Ukraine where Ukrainian ‘patriots’ and Russian-backed ‘separatists’ are engaged in a bizarre clash for superiority. This isn’t a war -- as most mainstream reviews of the film insist -- but a carefully controlled circus whose architects are not even in the area. Of course, virtually all outsiders, like the German reporter and his cameraman that enter the circus early into the film, do not see the strings behind the rivaling sides, so they are completely overwhelmed by the dangerous chaos. However, this is how everything is supposed to be -- because the chaos is exactly the type of environment in which the local population can be divided into ‘patriots’ and ‘separatists', and the global news networks need to push their manufactured narrative.

The political statements that are bounced around by the two rivaling sides are predictably idiotic. The fighters immediately label anyone that they dislike 'fascist' -- sound familiar? -- and then proceed to deliver justice the way they understand it. Feelings are always superior to facts and the truth is anything the most senior guy with a machine gun in his hands wants it to be. There isn’t a shortage of brainwashed puppets amomgst the civilian population either, and they are ready to defend the Motherland from the 'enemy' just like their fathers and grandfathers did decades ago.

Predictably, the chaos is great for business. While the bombs are falling on the ‘battlefield’, which is any place someone with the authority to greenlight an attack on the other side wants it to be, the local leaders of the two sides and their lackeys are delivering and selling everything the black market needs -- from spicy salami and powdered milk to the services of experienced prostitutes. A rogue commander has even figured out a way to ‘recover’ luxury automobiles and then sell them back to their owners. (The entire sequence where a clueless businessman is informed that his imported SUV has been recovered and is then summoned to reclaim it for a fair price can make old-school commies blush. The practice is straight out of the beloved Party manual).

Also predictable is the price that ordinary people are paying to have the circus in their country, which is total misery. Some are barely staying alive, but many more are dying of hunger and freezing to death. Not surprisingly, however, even amongst them there are many believers -- brainwashed beyond repair to believe that there is a ‘war’ that needs to be won so that their country becomes normal again.

Loznitsa has Donbass structured as a collage of segments whose one and only common element is the madness that is underway in a large region of the country. The film does not have central characters, and rightfully so, because this is the only way in which it could have been made to look legit.

The big picture that so many people are missing about the ‘war’ in Ukraine is that it is an extension of various opposing powerplays made by global strategists. Contrary to the fake narrative that the Western media has been working hard to legitimize, there isn’t a ‘right’ side in it. (Anyone with a basic knowledge of the history of Crimea, for instance, can instantly see through the narrative). The two sides are simply facades masking an ongoing trend to reestablish local zones of influence in a post-Cold War world that is rapidly being redrawn again.

Donbass Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Dobbass arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The technical presentation is superb. The film boasts a clean and sharp look with consistently impressive depth that folks with large screens might be impressed with. (I projected the film and certainly was). The primary colors are very natural and with the type of incredible nuances that are now becoming very common for contemporary productions. Image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Donbass Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Russian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the film with 5.1 track and was quite impressed. There is plenty of material in the different segments where separation, for instance, is outstanding and often times it feels like you are right in the middle of the chaos. Depth and especially clarity are also terrific. The dialog is clean, stable, and always easy to follow.

Donbass Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - an original trailer for Donbass. In Russian, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring an essay by film writer Jason Wood.

Donbass Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is fair to say that some of the humor that Sergei Loznitsa infuses in his latest film, Donbass, is quite similar in character to the one that Emir Kusturica legitimized in Underground and Black Cat, White Cat. However, it is only a tiny fragment of the absurdist circus that Donbass recreates to expose the true nature of a very fake 'war' between overwhelmingly clueless Ukrainian 'patriots' and Russian-backed 'separatists'. I thought that the film was very well done and its message effectively delivered. Eureka Entertainment/Montage Pictures' release offers an outstanding technical presentation of Donbass, so if you are interested in its subject matter pick up a copy for your collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.