Hello Mother Russian and Ukrainian Movies!

The greatest foreign movies, documentaries, and music videos you need to see.

I’d be delighted if you bookmarked this page, and explored these Russian and Ukrainian movies and documentaries over your holidays.

Below is ‘Kolshik’, the best short video I’ve seen. It’ll be the foreign cocaine persuading you to explore. It’s creator is Ilya Naishuller whose now famous for making ‘Nobody’ in the USA (love the insane bus fight!) but he’d already made the exciting first-person-shooter ‘Hardcore Henry’ in Russia 5 years earlier.

‘Tsoi’, another short video, is hilarious!

INTRODUCTION

Russia and the ex-Soviet states do comedy but they’re the royalty of dark drama. There’s honesty in depression, something palpable that I relate too.

Next year, I’ll post the best of Iceland, China, Korea, France and others (on my Wicked Ghosts substack), but it’s Russian and Ukrainians that are in my mind now, as they bleed and explode in the snow. Consequently, as I did for Israel and Palestine, I’m sharing with you movies that will hopefully help you understand the joy, pride and suffering of these Slavic people. They’re hardier souls than us Westerners (and English White Africans).

Ukraine’s listing is shorter because they don’t have the modern movie-making history and resources that Russia does, and thus create less with smaller distribution. But there are treasures, and I’ll follow this up with two reviews.

My recommendations aren’t biased. War isn’t a victory march for mental health. Practical conservatism isn’t an excuse for homophobia. Russia will be loved and criticised. Movies are ranked according to quality not topic.

Links lead to trailers. Enjoy.

DOCUSERIES

My favourite documentary series about Russia are made by foreigners. These are the only I haven’t ranked because they’re each exceptional in a different way.

‘Russia From Above’ (the series, not the movie) will make you fall in love with the country. It’s my favourite, It was the most successful in German TV’s history, a sign of how things were before the war in Ukraine. If you can’t find it, look for the shorter movie with the same name.

‘From Russia To Iran: Crossing The Wild Frontier' is a 4200km hike across the Caucus Mountains by author, explorer and ex-British Special Forces Major Levison Wood. You will swear, in some places, that the last 30 years of Russian history never happened. I’ve enjoyed all his series but found his people interactions here the most eye-opening. A wondrous series, on Amazon, Prime, Channel 4 but currently free here.

‘Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone’ is a heart-tearing montage of video clips shot by the BBC during the fall of the Soviet Union, and democracy under Perestroika Gorbachev and Vodka Yeltsin. When you see what Russia was rescued from, you’ll understand why older citizens overwhelming support Putin. Watch by clicking the link below.

DOCUMENTARIES

‘Ukraine on Fire’ has to be watched immediately after ‘Winter on Fire’. Between these two, you will be able to decide what sparked the civil war in Ukraine in 2014, and why Russia had to step in.

I know that the polished production of ‘Winter on Fire’ is propaganda, that anti-Russian snipers stoked the anti-Russian crowd, but it remains one of my favourites because the bravery of Ukrainian citizens cannot be denied. They may have been manipulated by extremists backed by the USA but they, like us, were only seeking a better future, and prepared to fight overwhelming odds. It’s a tragedy that they never knew they were being shot by the people claiming to support them. The footage of their struggle is a thriller on Netflix.

‘Ukraine on Fire’ brings us to earth with uncomfortable facts that power doesn’t care about commoners. The famous Oliver Stone (‘Platoon, ‘Born on the 4th of July’) is the narrator and producer, not the director. Igor Lopatonok, born in Ukraine (but possessing dual American and Russian citizenship), takes that role. He made it free on Rumble after YouTube banned it. The sequel is ‘Revealing Ukraine’.

1. ‘Winter on Fire’ (Ukraine 2015) vs ‘Ukraine on Fire’ (Ukraine 2016)

2. ‘Welcome to Chechnya’ (Russia 2019)

3. ‘My Perestroika’ (Russia 2010)

4. ‘A House Made of Splinters’ (Ukraine 2022)

5. ‘Distant Barking of Dogs’ (Donbas 2017)

6. ‘Something Better to Come’ (Russia 2014)

7. ‘Donbass’ (not fiction movie with same name, director Anne-Laure Bonnet 2016) free and ESSENTIAL to view!

8. ‘This Rain Will Never Stop’ (Ukraine/Syria 2020)

9. ‘Haulout’ (Russia free short movie 2022)

10. ‘Ukraine. The Movie.’

11. ‘The Babushkas of Chernobyl’ (Ukraine 2015)

12. ‘Meeting Gorbachev’ (Russia 2018)

13. ‘State Funeral’ (Russia 2019)

14. ‘Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer’ (Russia 2013)

15. ‘Alisa in Warland’ (Ukraine 2015)

16. ‘The War of Chimeras’ (Ukraine 2017)

17. ‘The Road Movie’ (Russia 2017)

18. ‘City 40’ (Russia 2016)

19. ‘The Earth is as Blue as an Orange’ (Ukraine 2021)

20. ‘Mariupolis 2’ (Ukraine 2023)

MOVIES

RUSSIA

Andrey Zvyagintsev is my favourite Russian director, with four of his creations making my top 40. His ‘Loveless’ may not be the easiest introduction to foreign movies but it’s a masterclass in shiny darkness (and hopefully still on Netflix) that must be watched in silence at night. If you want something painless and fun to start with, go for ‘The Major’, ‘Night Watch’/’Day Watch’, ‘Hardcore Henry’, ‘Why Don't You Just Die?’ or ‘Mermaid’.

1. ‘Loveless’ (family drama 2017)

2. ‘The Fool’ aka ‘Durak’ (corruption drama 2014)

3. ‘The Cuckoo’ aka ‘Kukushka’ (war comedy 2002)

4. ‘Beanpole’ (post-WW2 war PTSD drama 2019)

5. ‘Come and See’ (WW2 surreal horror 1985)

6. ‘Ayka’ (Kazakhstan-Russian immigrant female suppression drama 2018)

7. ‘The Major’ (police corruption drama 2013)

8. ‘Night Watch’ (action fantasy 2004)

9. ‘12’ (court drama 2007 - remake of ‘12 Angry Men’)

10. ‘Leviathan’ (corruption drama 2014)

11. ‘Petrov's Flu’ (surreal drama 2021)

12. ‘Captain Volkonogov Escaped’ (pre-WW2 drama thriller 2021)

13. ‘In the Forests of Siberia’ (French director but set Russia 2016)

14. ‘Leto’ a.k.a. ‘Summer’ (musician biopic 2018)

15. ‘The 9th Company’ (Afghan war 2005)

16. ‘Mermaid’ (quirky dramedy 2007)

17. ‘Arrhythmia’ (relationship drama 2017)

18. ‘Closeness’ (Kabardino-Balkarian, post-war coming-of-age 2017)

19. ‘Day Watch’ (action fantasy 2006 - Night Watch sequel)

20. ‘Salyut-7’ (cosmonaut drama 2017)

21. ‘Fortress of War’ (WW2 action drama 2010)

22. ‘The Island’ (monk drama 2006)

23. ‘Elena’ (crime drama 2011)

24. ‘Ivan's Childhood’ (WW2 classic 1962)

25. ‘Compartment Number 6’ (Finnish but set in Russia drama 2021)

26. ‘Dear Comrades’ (communist biopic 2020)

27. ‘The Banishment’ (crime drama 2007)

28. ‘Faust’ (surreal historical drama 2011)

29. ‘Hard to Be a God’ (depressing surreal sci-fi 2013)

30. ‘Unclenching the Fists’ (North Ossetian dark family drama 2021)

31. ‘Spacewalker’ (cosmonaut drama 2017)

32. ‘Corrections Class’ (school drama 2014)

33. ‘Why Don't You Just Die’ (comedy action 2019)

34. ‘Doctor Lisa’ (biopic 2020)

35. ‘Siberia, Monamour’ (Siberian drama 2011)

36. ‘Guard’ (crime drama 2019)

37. ‘How I Ended This Summer’ (drama 2010)

38. ‘Hardcore Henry’ (first person shooter action 2015)

39. ‘Sputnik’ (sci-fi thriller 2020)

40. ‘Zhit’ a.k.a. ‘To Live’ (crime drama 2010)

41. ‘The Execution’ (plot-twisting serial killer 2022)

42. ‘Koma’ a.k.a. ‘Coma’ (sci-fi 2020)

UKRAINE

Ukraine’s best movies also involve a lot of severe drama so it’s surprising that my favourite is a (black) comedy.

1. ‘I Work at the Cemetary’ (grief comedy 2021)

2. ‘Olga’ (French director but set Ukraine/Switzerland drama 2021)

3. ‘Homeward’ a.k.a. ‘Evge’ (Crimean family drama 2019)

4. ‘Pamfir’ (Carpathian crime drama 2022)

5. ‘My Joy’ (bleak corruption drama 2010)

6. ‘Do You Love Me’ (Ukraine coming-of-age drama 2023)

7. ‘Klondike’ (civil war drama 2022)

8. ‘Bad Roads’ (drama anthology 2020)

9. ‘Ballad of a Soldier’ (full movie link) (Soviet Ukrainian WW2 romance 1959)

10. ‘Viddana’ (fantasy drama 2020)

11. ‘A Gentle Creature’ (corruption drama 2017)

12. ‘Atlantis’ (civil war drama 2019)

13. ‘In The Fog’ (WW2 drama 2012)

SERIES

Zelensky’s ‘Servant of the People’ has funny moments that are destroyed by knowing it was oligarchic propaganda leading to war. Instead, watch Russia’s thriller ‘To the Lake’.

MORE MUSIC VIDEOS

We began with Ilya Naishuller’s incredible short videos (hope you watched both). He made a third, a crime with a twist. And his work seems to have inspired a follow-up that’s full of funny action. All four videos, plus many more, are for one of Russia’s biggest bands called ‘Leningrad’. Here’s a taste of their channel.

Yuliya Topolnitskaya, the main actress from Ilya’s ‘Kolshik’ video and another Leningrad video called ‘Exhibit’, was elevated her to movies and a television series. Lubov ‘Love’ Konstantinova had already taken the lead in a mini-series but it was Leningrad’s ‘Tits’ a.k.a. ‘Boob’ video, with a clip of Putin, that shot her to stardom. She’s since appeared in several series, and played the nurse in the nationalistic war biopic ‘The Last Stand’ a.k.a. ‘The Last Frontier’.

But Ilya, in addition to his blockbuster movies and music videos for others, has his own band, Biting Elbows. His videos propelled his band too. ‘Love Song’ was popular, but the action story in ‘The Stampede’ and its even better sequel, ‘Bad Motherfuckers’, was biggest.

This is a political page. War propaganda made me want to show you that there’s more to Ukraine and Russia. For more movie lists (and music reviews, short stories, poems) sign up to my personal Wicked Mike’s Ghosts substack.