Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the philosopher has been filming what he sees on the ground. As one year approaches since the start of the conflict, he looks back at those he met on the ground.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Bernard-Henri Levy has been filming what he sees on the ground. Physical exercise. he travels miles around the country to collect images and encounters.
His film is a testament to the turmoil caused by war and how fear prevents people from changing each other’s psyches in the light of conflicting emotions: flee or stay, resist or disappear. His characters add to the work done by the war correspondents who follow each other on the ground and make this war undoubtedly one of the best told from the inside and in all its horrors, every day.
In the video, the Ukrainian woman plays the violin in the bunker
Madame Figaro. What is your first memory of this war?
Empty Odessa. Frozen. A sort of besieged Troy, holding its breath. This is the very beginning of the war. Then I have no doubt that Putin will make it one of his first targets. I am waiting. But no. A few rockets, of course. But not a steel storm. For what ? I still don’t know today.
You draw several women. what do they teach you about war and life during war?
Dignity class. These women of Koupiansk, who have lost track of their loved ones, swallow their tears and do not complain. A lesson in elegance. this little lady whose building in Kiev has just been bombed, she spent the night in her bathroom, she hasn’t taken off her coat because it’s too cold, it’s full of dust, she’s ashamed to look like this. in front of the camera. A lesson in courage. This commander from Ochakov, at the end of the film, facing the Russians. he knows that he will be one of the first on the day of the landing to cross the Dnieper; shining in beauty and grace, she waits.
You refer to Drie La Rochelle’s novel, Gilles, the character moves to the Spanish Civil War, but on the fascist side. Have you ever been afraid of being on the wrong side?
Never, no. Because I think I have pretty sure reflexes. Perhaps, this is the only policy of the writer. Reflexes. Nervous System. Do not be afraid. Do not give in to blackmail. Having an accurate reaction intuition that will make you fall on the side of meanness. I remember the scene you mentioned. I have two fears, and only two, in the face of a squad desperate ones of this type. To be lecturing, too rude, to look down on these people, and based on my knowledge, a sin of bigotry. Not being clear enough, on the other hand, nor being uncompromising enough, is the sin of indulgence, loss of perception, weariness of mind and heart, not good either. Navigate between the two. everything is there.
Death cuts through the film. What does that mean to you?
Death, I think about it every day of my life. There, with me, is not the fruit and its kernel, but the victorious desert. So to make a movie like that and live an adventure like that is to push it back a little bit. Let him get a little closer and feel that you have left him. A war correspondent performs death drills, practical work. That is good. It helps. It’s like taming a beast.
Slava Ukrainian (“Glory to Ukraine”), by Bernard-Henri Levy, was released on February 22.
Source: Le Figaro
