Rating: NR | Runtime: 76 minutes
Release Date: August 16th, 2024 (USA)
Studio: Monument Releasing
Director(s): David Gutnik
Writer(s): David Gutnik

You have to latch onto something to not be a burden to yourself.

The propagandized line being fed by Vladimir Putin to justify his invasion of Ukraine is that the Ukrainian people have no culture. And if that’s true, they don’t have a nation either. His premise therefore states that he isn’t invading their borders at all because there are no borders to cross. He’s simply reclaiming a population of Russians living on Russian land.

Except, of course, that premise is flawed. The Ukrainian people do have their own culture. That’s what possessing a shared language, history, and art creates. So, rather than document those who justifiable fled for their own safety, director David Gutnik decided to pivot the subject of his documentary upon those who stayed. Whereas most films that follow this same idea focus on the military battles to protect their home, however, Rule of Two Walls centers on the cultural fight to maintain their identity. Because regardless of who wins this war, Ukraine will continue to exist in them.

While the majority of the piece follows Lyana Mytsko and Stepan Burban as well as their artist friends engaged in a variety of endeavors (music, photography, restoration, textiles, etc.), Gutnik doesn’t simply point the camera outwards. They may not receive as much screen time (with some only getting the few seconds necessary to state their current occupation on this project), he also turns the lens around to highlight his crew. Editor. Cinematography. Composer. Producer. Himself. They too are artists in this fight. They are embedded in this culture both as creators and documenters. This film is as much a window into Ukraine as it is an object itself—a manifestation of Ukraine’s soul.

The result is a captivating piece that provides a different look at a familiar topic. There’s the memory of what is being destroyed. The tenacity of preservation and politics (I loved seeing the work being done to surround monuments with sandbags before pasting up posters that say they’re protecting them from having to witness the Russian’s shame). And the hope of reclamation and return. But that sense of empowerment shouldn’t also sanitize the horrors of what’s happening. So, you should know that watching means you must also bear witness to the nightmare they’re fighting to stop. We can only pray it (as well as the brutal images coming out of Gaza) inspires us to action rather than numb us into defeat.

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Lyana Mytsko and Stepan Burban in RULE OF TWO WALLS; courtesy of Monument Releasing.