Butterfly Vision review: An inspiring yet disturbing tale of a Ukrainian soldier’s unfailing resilience

STORY: Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance expert Lilia may have somehow managed to return to her homeland after spending weeks in Russian captivity. But the scars and trauma have forever shifted her perspective on life. 

REVIEW: The different layers of trauma are portrayed in a distinct manner, as the narrative closely follows the days after an evidently disturbed prisoner of war finally returns home to her family in Ukraine. Lilia (played by Rita Burkovska) is a soldier, who has just been released in a prisoner swap. Also known as ‘Butterfly’, she is an aerial reconnaissance expert. Lilia was arrested by Russian separatists in Donbas during the conflict that started in 2014. She’s now back home after spending nearly two months in captivity, where she was subjected to torture and inhuman behaviour. Back to her homeland, the first thing she gets to know is that her grandmother is no more.

But despite all the deep scars on her body and mind, this Ukrainian soldier refuses to shrug off resilience and her brave demeanour, albeit unsmiling. Lilia’s return is widely covered in the media, with people sympathising with her and commenting on her dishevelled state in equal measure. For a while, she was stationed at a rehabilitation centre, where authorities are running some tests on her as well as providing her with counselling sessions. She is frequently visited by her mother (Myroslava Vytrykhovska-Makar) and her husband Tokha (Lyubomyr Valivots), who has recently joined a far-right patrolling guard service. 

During one of her medical check-ups, it surfaces that she was raped by a Russian guard and that now she’s pregnant. This, obviously, tears apart Tokha, who himself is fighting many battles within. Nonetheless, they eventually get her home. Lilia, her husband and their dog Tarantino now live in an apartment, where they try to live a normal life, however elusive that may sound. What’s also troubling for her now is the soldiers’ divided attitudes, more so after she finds guns stashed in her own house.    

Anxiety and depression is the constant mood of the film. But despite that, the characters are sort of unwilling to address the inner issues that they all are suffering individually and as a nation. In between, Tokha also gets arrested and then released for attacking the people of a community during one of their rounds. This adds to the uneasiness and worries of his pregnant wife.  

Premiered at the 2022 Cannes film festival, Butterfly Vision marks Ukrainian writer-director Maksym Nakonechnyi’s first feature film. Before this, he had made a few documentaries, focussing on the people of the crisis-hit country. During an interview earlier, the filmmaker had said that the 108-minute movie is an attempt to “raise awareness and bring empathy as well as personalise our struggle and resilience”. Mind you, although this movie was shot before the Russian invasion, the script still manages to give you a hauntingly true picture of what conflict can do to people and their psyche. The movie reflects what identity and freedom means to the people of Ukraine. 

VERDICT: It’s important that war dramas that rely more on reality and less on fiction are made and widely screened. Butterfly Vision’s disquieting theme and treatment make it a must-watch. As a newcomer, Rita puts forth a dazzling performance. Although mostly muted, her powerful screen presence adds to the underlying message that the narrative strives to convey to the world. It’s a hard-hitting tale of a brave and resilient soldier, who dares to pierce through the future via her focussed vision.