How to Divorce During the War
Trying to navigate life during turmoil is a difficult thing. None of the main characters in Andrius Blaževičius’s drama go to the battlefield in Ukraine after the 2022 invasion by Russia, but all of them are impacted by it. Now, imagine working through the complications of a separation, and pending divorce, through that. This is what “How to Divorce During the War” is about. It is a deliberately-paced drama that starts off one place, and ends in a different one.
Vytas (Marius Repšys) is a filmmaker, a husband and a father. His work is mainly narrative, and a lot of his efforts when he does not work is devoted to Dovile (Amelija Adomaityte), their young daughter. His wife is Marija (Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė), a news producer who is often fairly busy, but overall, it feels like they work together with the roles they have carved out. One day, Marija tells Vytas she wants a divorce. He’s stunned, but we do find out that Marija does have a relationship with a co-worker going on. The next day, Russia begins its invasion into Ukraine, and all three have their lives change dramatically. Suddenly, the natural changes of going through a divorce feels small in comparison.
“How to Divorce During the War” feels very deliberately paced, asking us to engage with things in an observational, almost clinical way as the family struggles to find its normalcy as it goes through the process of a changing family life. But the war changes things, as well. We get action from all three of them that will challenge their worldview, whether it’s pivoting to activism and arguments with family; fights at school with kids whom are parroting propagandistic words; and actually housing a family, which is a fundamental good, but can also stress the homelife. The world’s issues are overwhelming the personal, almost making them miniscule. Blaževičius gets strong performances by all three lead actors, and takes them on a journey that is quite humbling to watch. They find themselves changed by the events that have taken place in the preceding 108 minutes, but by the end, we- and they- are right where they belong, together, helping each other survive. Like a family should.
