Indeed, the Polish patriots are still mad as hell over the topic of Ukrainian Nazi-patriotism. This movie is just an instance of that anger.
This article originally appeared at Politikus. Translated by Kristina Rus at Fort Russ
In Poland the filming of the movie “Volyn” about the atrocities of Bandera is almost completed. It was reported by “Politnavigator” referring to a Ukrainian blogger Vladimir Kornilov.
Feature film “Volyn” about the atrocities of Ukrainian nationalists was filmed by a Polish director Wojciech Smarzowski, whom critics rightly call the “king of modern Polish cinema”. The film is scheduled for opening in the spring of 2016, and after that it will be impossible for the European Union not to notice the banderism in Ukraine. Poland is Europe too, and a member of the EU.
Wojciech Smarzowski is a quite famous Polish director and received numerous prestigious awards at Polish film festivals. To “shut up” and “ignore” his “Volyn” in Poland will be almost impossible, which means that the poles will sharply cool off towards the free and independent Ukraine, especially on the background of Ukrainian marches in Kiev with portraits of Bandera.
In Ukraine this news, of course, caused a storm of discontent, which the poles frankly don’t understand. Polish website of “Newsweek Polska” received a lot of comments in support of this film. Here are some of them:
Leniwiec: This is the perfect time to make such a film. The truth hurts, and we need to shout loud about it, especially now, when the new Ukrainian government began the glorification of the murderers from the UPA. If this is the cause of the deterioration of our relationship, it just shows that there is something wrong with our Eastern neighbors.
Mateusz: I’m looking forward to the release of this movie, but, on the other hand, I can’t understand the indignation of Ukrainians that we insulted them – we are not the ones who organized the marches in honor of the UPA and Bandera! I read a book (with detailed descriptions) about what happened in Volhynia – it really was a hell, it’s great that this film is coming out.
jola: I know the history of Volhynia from my grandfather, who was the only one from a big family who survived by hiding in a cemetery at night during the massacre. With the help of Russians and Germans, ironically, he managed to escape to Krakow. Now I want to compare the images seen through the eyes of my grandfather, with images created by pan Smarzowski.
The director himself commented on his decision to make a film about the Volyn massacre as follows: “You can’t make a film that will satisfy everyone. I have my own version, my own truth and I’m sticking to it. I’m Polish and I am making a movie from the Polish perspective”, and to a question by a journalist whether the film will be cruel, he replied: “It will be as it should be”.
Ukraine, in its schizophrenic desire to join Europe, actually is moving further away from its dreams. Nurturing the ideological heirs of OUN-UPA, Ukraine actually is repelling even those who until recently supported it.
A striking example was the virtual abolition of the so-called shopping-visas for “free and European” Ukraine and the introduction of simplified entry to Poland for the citizens of the “totalitarian” Belarus.