When Zhorik, the main character of the comedy “Hero of My Time,” moves to Kyiv, he has high hopes to improve his life. But then he encounters the mundane struggles, bureaucracy, and corruption of Ukrainian reality.
This understated movie premiered at the Odesa International Film Festival on July 15 as part of the national competition program.
It is the feature debut of Ukrainian filmmaker Tonia Noyabrova, famous for her short films. Noyabrova is both the screenwriter and the director, and the film is an honest reflection on Ukraine’s capital.
Titled in an ironic reference to “A Hero of Our Time,” a novel by 19th century Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov, Noyabrova’s film depicts Ukrainian reality with all its flaws and contrasts. Zhorik, played by Ukrainian actor Yevhen Bushmakin, is forced to face them all.
“This is the guy next door, whom we see on the street every day but do not always pay attention. However, he is the main character of our time,” Noyabrova told the Kyiv Post after the film’s screening.
Once Zhorik moves to Kyiv, he finds a job, has a positive attitude, and believes that everyone in the country should have a civic position.
But he soon faces local problems: every day he trips over garbage on the stairwell of his apartment building because the state garbage service doesn’t work properly and people leave trash right by their doors.
Rather than simply complain, Zhorik decides to take action: he talks to his neighbors and addresses local authorities, but encounters even more problems. State agencies are disorganized and function poorly. This causes long lines for services, which, in turn, feeds corruption.
Zhorik (Yevhen Bushmakin) trips over trash in his apartment building’s stairwell, a mundane problem he attempts to resolve by talking with his neighbors and appealing to the authorities in “Hero of My Time.” (Courtesy)
Noyabrova came up with the idea for the film when she herself tripped over garbage in her own apartment building.
While “Hero of My Time” depicts the dysfunctionality of Ukrainian state services and the authorities, the film was actually partially financed by the State Film Agency of Ukraine. It provided around half of the film’s Hr 16 million ($609,300) budget. This is a good sign: apparently the agency picks films with worthy ideas, rather than those that primarily promote a positive image of the country.
Humor, real people, honest roles
Most of the humor in the film is based upon things Ukrainians see and hear every day: the way people talk and think and what they believe.
One of the episodes features Zhorik at his first job in Kyiv as a salesperson at the local market. He listens to his fellow colleagues discuss a questionable news story about sparkling water causing cellulite.
“Now I know why I have it,” one of the women says. A few minutes later, she asks Zhorik to buy her a hot dog and some sparkling water.
These actresses use surzhyk (a local mix of the Ukrainian and Russian languages), they appear naive and expressive, and are very familiar to anyone who has visited a Ukrainian market.
Ukrainian director Tonia Noyabrova and actor Yevhen Bushmakin talk to the media after the screening of their new comedy “Hero of My Time” at the Odesa International Film Festival on July 15. (Volodymyr Petrov)
This naturalism and familiarity is the product of great acting. Most of the actors were not professionals, which contributed to the scenes’ realism.
The main character is played equally deftly. Bushmakin’s kind eyes and calm movements emphasize that Zhorik is a simple-hearted and childlike man.
Noyabrova also employs visual humor, stressing the contrasts inherent in Ukrainian life. The film depicts contrasting sides of the city: down-to-earth people living their everyday lives and intellectual visitors at modern art museums.
We see Kyiv’s elite art scene when Zhorik starts working at the modern art museum as a security guard. The comedy hilariously depicts the ridiculousness of some contemporary artworks. It shows how visitors feel awkward when they don’t understand art, a common experience.
Depiction of Kyiv
As the story is set in Kyiv, the film, naturally, shows the capital’s cityscapes and residents. One can even argue that Kyiv becomes a full-fledged character with its culture, habits and flaws.
However, “Hero of My Time” features neither the city’s main Khreshchatyk Street, nor top sights like Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and the charming Dnipro River.
Rather than the glossy city with modern hotels, picturesque views, and marvelous sights that tourists see, the director decided to show the other side of Kyiv. That is the Kyiv that its citizens see on their way to work and back home, while grocery shopping at markets, and living their everyday lives.
“Hero of My Time” depicts Kyiv with all its contrasts: the beautiful, the ugly, and the weird. (Courtesy)
“There is some individuality, distinctiveness to our city because it’s so weird, sometimes paradoxical, sometimes ludicrous because there are inflatable eggs, Mercedes cars and St. Mykhailo’s Cathedral — and it’s all in one shot. I love it so much,” Noyabrova said at the presser after the movie screening.
The director stressed that many Ukrainian films feature apartments that real people don’t live in, streets where people don’t walk, and other shiny images of Kyiv and the country.
She believes that showing real life with irony may help Ukrainians take a different look at their lives and trigger changes.
“Hero of My Time” will hit Ukrainian cinemas in September. The film’s production team is currently in negotiations with foreign distributors to screen the movie outside the country.
