‘Timestamp’ Review: A Beautifully Observed Ukrainian Doc on the Perils and Pleasures of Schooltime in Wartime
variety.comGuy Lodge Film Critic It takes a village — or what remains of one — to raise a child in “Timestamp,” the latest in a shattering run of documentaries presenting the current reality of living in Ukraine as Russia continues to wage its unconscionable war on the territory.
From the Oscar-winning “20 Days in Mariupol” to “Porcelain War” to Sergei Loznitsa’s recent “The Invasion,” such films are building toward an essential artistic and journalistic archive for an ongoing atrocity.
Collectively, they make for an overwhelming wall of tragedy — from which Kateryna Gornostai‘s film somewhat differentiates itself with its focus on the young people hoping to someday call this present the past, and those equipping them for whatever the future holds.
There’s devastation aplenty in “Timestamp,” of course, but also a bright beam of hope that feels both unforced and hard-earned.
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