Bucha (2023) on Netflix
NR20231h 58m
Spring 2022. Kostiantyn 'Kostia' Hudauskas, a Lithuanian born in Kazakhstan, drives into occupied Bucha and Vorzel to get civilians out past Russian checkpoints on his Kazakh passport.
- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb6.3/101,157 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Russian forces hold Bucha and the towns around Kyiv in the spring of 2022, and at least 1,374 civilians are killed in the occupied suburbs. Kostiantyn 'Kostia' Hudauskas, a Lithuanian born in Kazakhstan, carries a Kazakh passport, and from the Russian point of view that makes him easier to wave through the checkpoints. He drives into Bucha, Vorzel and other occupied places and brings dozens of civilians out. The story is built on his real biography, on his own account of the evacuations, and on consultations with Ukraine's military intelligence; recordings of intercepted radio traffic supply the dialogue of the Russian soldiers, and captured vehicles stand in for Russian armor.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Bucha (2023)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Dialogue between Russian soldiers was recorded using published intercepts of their communications, and Russian military vehicles in the film were trophy APCs and trucks captured by the Ukrainian army.
- Even before release the film was criticized for coming out too early, while the trauma of those affected was still fresh, and for being fiction rather than a documentary; an English-language poster reading "Bucha" showed a partially destroyed apartment building in Borodianka, which some regarded as a crude inaccuracy.
- Alongside the feature, the crew was also working on a documentary film built from eyewitness testimonies that were recorded during the making of the feature.
