Winner of the 2024 Oscar for Best Documentary Film 20 Days in Mariupol is hard hitting and intense viewing of actual scenes in a city during the ongoing war in the Ukraine. This is a brilliant, moving, audacious documentary from an extremely talented videographer and team. It’s difficult not being effected by this film, as it confronts the viewer with the sort of hard-hitting stuff that the news generally air-brushes out— pretty much the exact opposite of comfort viewing—this film confirms not only are things bad but they are probably a lot worse than you imagined them to be. As the title indicates, this is a ground level view of events in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the first 20 days of the Russian invasion. A disembodied voice-over relates details and an ominous soundtrack magnifies certain moments but mostly, the footage speaks for itself. Overall, this documentary is one of the most heart-wrenching, devastating, tear-jerking experiences ever. You owe it to yourself to see this to get the full effect, since words can never describe how much of an impact it will have on you. It’s films like this one which approaches war in the opposite way and ensures the viewer has no easy escape.