20 Days in Mariupol

It's the 2022 Battle of Mariupol. On February 24, Russia invades Ukraine. This is a recounting with news reports and very much the title. At the outset of war, journalist-filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov and a crew scrambled to Mariupol with the expectation that it would be one of the main targets for the Russians. It is the largest city on the land corridor between Russian occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea. This is a tough watch. I'm not even sure that it's a must-watch. I do know that it is a must-film. A lot of important documentaries are time capsules of a moment and place. This is a lot more important than that. It is a witness to history and it could be one of the few video witnesses to survive the invasion.

War is ugly, but few things can prepare you for the things you see in this documentary. As a father of 2 young children I couldn't hold back constant tears throughout. Death is everywhere. Innocent people caught in the middle of something they never asked. Innocent children playing soccer getting their legs blown off by Russian shelling. A 4 year old boy crying in from of the camera saying he doesn't want to die. Doctors trying to bring back to life a 5 year old girl. And failing. A young couple not believing that the doctors couldn't save their 18 month boy. So hard to watch. But I watched, as should you. To see evil, understand it and not let it win.