Review of Bitter Harvest (2017) by Ulana P — 05 Mar 2017

The docudrama Bitter Harvest resonates with the undaunted suffering of the Ukrainian people, who refused to be crushed by Soviet-engineered starvation during the 1930s. In the midst of this tragic struggle between David and Goliath, we encounter the equally tragic naiveté of idealistic young revolutionaries in desperate search of something better for themselves and their fellow citizens.

In contrast, we experience the tragi-comic resolve of everyday people trying to live their everyday lives--birth, romance, marriage, and other rituals of an earthly existence, amidst changes of tidal magnitude.

Our senses are assailed by the atmosphere of death, and the mind reels at the images of orphaned children and other family members left to carry on. Director George Mendeluk has cast Max Irons (Yuri) and Samantha Barks (Natalka) as the young lovers snared by Stalin's genocidal horror.

The couple evokes empathy for their genuine humanity and imperfection, and for their determination which matures under tremendous duress. The film weaves back and forth between fairy tale romance and grimmest reality, ultimately concluding with a message of hope in the guise of an orphan boy the young couple takes in.

Bitter Harvest is a gritty, unpardoning retelling of one of the greatest crimes against humanity in modern times. A history lesson never to be forgotten, nor repeated.