Plai. A Mountain Path

Meditative portrait of the life of Ukrainian Hannusia and Dmytro and their two grandchildren in a remote mountain village. Dmytro lost his leg defending Ukraine’s independence. Still, the couple – who have been married for thirty years – stay loving, grateful and resilient.  
 
Ukraine, 2020, a small farmhouse in the Carpathian Mountains. Hannusia and Dmytro lead a satisfying and productive life, together with their grandchildren: the toddler Vasylko and his older sister, very smart Anya. The children stay with their grandparents while their mother works a job in Poland to make ends meet. It’s a peaceful existence, milking cows, riding the wheelbarrow, shaking the apple tree and singing beautiful melancholy songs while working in the field. 
 
The fact that Dmytro lost a leg not long ago doesn’t seem to dampen the couple’s spirit at all. It’s only gradually that we learn of their hardships and misfortunes, mostly thanks to the children’s inquisitive minds. Like when Vasylko asks: ‘What is the European Union?’ Or Anya, musing to the camera: ‘Why did God create war?’ At moments like these, the echoes of the Russian-Ukrainian war enter this beautiful, poetic gem.