Homeward

Nariman Aliev's 2019 Ukrainian film follows a Crimean Tatar father who has lost his eldest son in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Mustafa decides to take the body to the land of his birth, Crimea, and sets out with his younger son. Across the journey the distance between them becomes clear. The father insists on carrying tradition and language forward; the younger son has lived in Kyiv, considers himself of that place and does not fully understand his father's world. Transporting the body becomes a procedure in which that difference is constantly tested. The film does not directly debate the annexation of Crimea or the position of Crimean Tatars; everything emerges from the conversations between two people. It screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and was Ukraine's submission for the Academy Awards. Who it's for: those who like road movies and father-and-son narratives. Who it's not for: viewers wanting the political situation in the region explained; the film assumes you know the context.