Bad Roads

Name: Bad Roads
Genre: Drama
Released: April 15, 2022
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Anastasia Parshina, Andrey Lelyukh, Anna Zhurakovskaya, Ekaterina Zhdanovich, Igor Koltovskyy

2022

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Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Critic Reviews

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Bad Roads (US Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

Film Movement | Release Date: April 15, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Anastasia Parshina, Andrey Lelyukh, Anna Zhurakovskaya, Ekaterina Zhdanovich, Igor Koltovskyy, Maryna Klimova, Volodymyr Hurin, Yuliya Matrosova, Yuri Kulinich, Zoya Baranovskaya

Summary: Four short stories are set along the treacherous roads of Donbass, Ukraine during the war. There are no safe spaces and no one can make sense of just what is going on. Even as they are trapped in the chaos, some manage to wield authority over others. Originally presented on stage at the Royal Court Theater in London and adapted powerfullyFour short stories are set along the treacherous roads of Donbass, Ukraine during the war. There are no safe spaces and no one can make sense of just what is going on. Even as they are trapped in the chaos, some manage to wield authority over others. Originally presented on stage at the Royal Court Theater in London and adapted powerfully by writer/director Natalya Vorozhbit, BAD ROADS presents a series of tension-packed vignettes, each built around a dangerous encounter on the byways of Eastern Ukraine. … Expand

Director: Natalya Vorozhbit

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 105 min

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Critic Reviews

Alex Saveliev

Apr 29, 2022

A warm heart beats subliminally throughout the narrative, a tinge of hope that may be gasping for air but remains vibrant, especially when juxtaposed against the disheveled, rotten backdrop. Read full review

Allan Hunter

Apr 21, 2022

Humanity is the first casualty of war in Bad Roads. Natalya Vorozhbit’s adaptation of her 2017 play is a howl of anguish over the recent history of the Ukraine and the impact of hostilities with neighbouring Russia. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Vorozhbit opens up her play just enough to make it cinematic, without losing the power that these disparate stories from a combat zone carry. One watches it with the hope that some day she’ll get to make another, and that Ukrainian cinemas will be open to show it, if they’re still standing. Read full review

Justin Chang

Apr 29, 2022

Volorzhbit has a gift for building tension through narrative restraint and mordant humor; she also has a keen sense of misdirection. Read full review

Alissa Simon

Apr 21, 2022

Although the various episodes don’t quite add up to a strong narrative whole, they do gain extra resonance from current events in this troubled region. Read full review

Claire Shaffer

Apr 28, 2022

The four wartime stories in “Bad Roads” fall short on delivering any meaningful insight into the nature of conflict, relying instead on moments of lackluster tension and shock value that greatly overstay their welcome. Read full review

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Brent_Marchant

Oct 28, 2022

The indignities of war can be horrendous, if not downright repulsive. And, while it’s important that these atrocities are not overlooked, the way in which their stories are told matters greatly. That’s where writer-director Natalya Vorozhbyt’s debut feature regrettably drops the ball. ThisThe indignities of war can be horrendous, if not downright repulsive. And, while it’s important that these atrocities are not overlooked, the way in which their stories are told matters greatly. That’s where writer-director Natalya Vorozhbyt’s debut feature regrettably drops the ball. This collection of loosely linked vignettes set during the civil war in the Donbas region of Ukraine shortly after the Maidan Uprising presents a series of stories depicting the physical, psychological and social impact of the conflict on the area’s citizens, much of it in restrained but unflinching detail. The problem, however, rests with the specific material chosen for these vignettes. Of the four narrative threads, the first is the most compelling, credible and engaging, even if it drags somewhat in spots. The remaining three, however, suffer from a variety of issues: the second one is dull and largely pointless, and the fourth is bizarre and at times laughably silly. But the most troubling is the third, which is positively sick, twisted and perverted, even if it manages to keep from becoming overly gratuitous in telling a story that seems to have little to do with the conflict itself and which merely provides the stage for an episode of manipulation porn. What’s more, the film overall does little to shed much light on the war itself, choosing instead to focus on the individual tales for which the conflict serves as little more than a backdrop. Given that this offering was primarily made for a Ukrainian audience, perhaps the filmmaker decided that locals were already familiar enough with the kinds of issues covered here and felt that they didn’t need to be belabored in the movie’s narrative. But, for those on the outside looking in, it feels like there’s a lot of back story missing that doesn’t enhance the individual tales told in the picture’s overarching content. And, as for what’s being shown here, it’s not patently obvious that we really need to see it, no matter how realistic it might be in capturing stories typical of the subject matter upon which they’re based. In these days of the current Ukrainian conflict, it’s natural to want to be supportive of the nation’s people, culture and society in the face of the oppressive circumstances currently prevailing there, but that doesn’t mean everything that comes out of that region should automatically be given a pass because of its source of origin, and that’s certainly the case where this film is concerned.… Expand

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