The story follows five young people in Taiwan who are invited to participate in an immersive theater experience involving Sofiy and her family's struggles as Russia begins its invasion of Ukraine.
This film offers innumerable opportunities for adults and children to understand and experience empathy for and with each other. Moreover, it invites us to get comfortable with being uncomfortable--there are so many shades of gray between black and white. All of the scenarios scripted for Sofiy and her multigenerational family are undeniably happening in real time during the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Though they involve heartbreaking decision making processes such as the division of families, death of family members, issues of trust and truth telling, the narrator does not sugar coat any of it. She does step in on occasion to guide them in understanding that the advice they offer Sofiy does not make them to blame for the outcome. And eventually she tells them that several outcomes had been written into the choice junctures to help them understand the complexity of causality. Overall, the writers created a mimetic space wherein these five young people could inhabit the animated characters' spaces and experience true compassion and empathy.
This film is part animation, part live action. The animation artwork is not particularly well crafted, but it doesn't need to be--it's just the platform for creating the dialectic. The cinematographers use such a fine touch in capturing the participant's emotional responses. They could have preyed up pathos and emotional manipulation to engage the audience, but they did not. Tears and anguished facial expressions say all that needs to be said.
The young people as subjects are not the focus of this piece; rather, it is their genuine and often painfully troubled decisions offered to Sofiy in the role playing experience that illustrate the challenge of making a "right" decision in the circumstances of war. To me, the most striking scene in the film is when the young participants are asked to advise Sofiy whether she should tell her younger sister Mila that their mother died in an accident caused by a missile deployment as she is driving home to pick up the children. Some suggest that telling a lie now and the truth later is kindness to Mila, but one participant shares her personal experience of being lied to in such a manner. Voting on the outcome is agonizing for them, but in the end, telling the truth prevails. They perhaps figured out that even lying as a kindness creates trust issues.
To put it simply, life is frightfully difficult: there is no way to know in advance if the decisions we make, whether logical or emotional, are the right ones. Some are crushed by tragedy, and others find a strength they did not know they had. Yes, this seems like a big plate to set in front of young people, but with guidance and respectful discussion they can get a great deal of insight from it.
I give Octopus News: Sofiy and Her War 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. By Debra L. KIDS FIRST!
The story follows five young people in Taiwan who are invited to participate in an immersive theater experience involving Sofiy and her family's struggles as Russia begins its invasion of Ukraine.
This film offers innumerable opportunities for adults and children to understand and experience empathy for and with each other. Moreover, it invites us to get comfortable with being uncomfortable--there are so many shades of gray between black and white. All of the scenarios scripted for Sofiy and her multigenerational family are undeniably happening in real time during the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Though they involve heartbreaking decision making processes such as the division of families, death of family members, issues of trust and truth telling, the narrator does not sugar coat any of it. She does step in on occasion to guide them in understanding that the advice they offer Sofiy does not make them to blame for the outcome. And eventually she tells them that several outcomes had been written into the choice junctures to help them understand the complexity of causality. Overall, the writers created a mimetic space wherein these five young people could inhabit the animated characters' spaces and experience true compassion and empathy.
This film is part animation, part live action. The animation artwork is not particularly well crafted, but it doesn't need to be--it's just the platform for creating the dialectic. The cinematographers use such a fine touch in capturing the participant's emotional responses. They could have preyed up pathos and emotional manipulation to engage the audience, but they did not. Tears and anguished facial expressions say all that needs to be said.
The young people as subjects are not the focus of this piece; rather, it is their genuine and often painfully troubled decisions offered to Sofiy in the role playing experience that illustrate the challenge of making a "right" decision in the circumstances of war. To me, the most striking scene in the film is when the young participants are asked to advise Sofiy whether she should tell her younger sister Mila that their mother died in an accident caused by a missile deployment as she is driving home to pick up the children. Some suggest that telling a lie now and the truth later is kindness to Mila, but one participant shares her personal experience of being lied to in such a manner. Voting on the outcome is agonizing for them, but in the end, telling the truth prevails. They perhaps figured out that even lying as a kindness creates trust issues.
To put it simply, life is frightfully difficult: there is no way to know in advance if the decisions we make, whether logical or emotional, are the right ones. Some are crushed by tragedy, and others find a strength they did not know they had. Yes, this seems like a big plate to set in front of young people, but with guidance and respectful discussion they can get a great deal of insight from it.
I give Octopus News: Sofiy and Her War 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. By Debra L. KIDS FIRST!
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