Cinema of Oleh Sentsov

Analysing such a turbulent filmography as that of Oleh Sentsov and finding an unifying thread of sorts is a textbook example that film criticism is the art of extrapolating a form of meaning that goes beyond the original intentions of the author. Sentsov definitely did not wish to undergo all the difficulties that shaped his life and by extension, his films, but it is undeniable that they had an effect, and more interestingly, an unifying effect.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1976 in Crimea, Oleh Sentsov studied Economics, and did not approach filmmaking as a career until 2008, when he directed his first short film. His debut feature film Gamer was shot with limited resources, but got selected at Rotterdam Film Festival in 2012, receiving enough buzz to facilitate preproduction on his second feature. Following his activism during Euromaidan and the russian annexation of Crimea, Sentsov was arrested by the FSB with questionable accusations of terrorism, sparkling outrage among the international community. Condemned to 20 years of prison, he was released in a prisoner exchange in 2019.After the full scale invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, he joined military service and has been on the frontlines.

UNINTENTIONALITY AND ACCIDENTS

If there is a factor that accomunates the four features of Sentsov, it is the unexpected importance of chance. This is evident in Gamer, for example, where technical imperfections become in a way thematically repurposed, more so in Real, a film that apparently would not even exist if it wasn't by accident. Even in the case of his most "free" film, Rhino, the long hiatus caused by the arrest mid-preproduction left its mark. Casual input is not uncommon in cinema, but in Sentsov's case it is more apparent than usual, to the point that it is almost a collateral theme, not as appariscent or intentional as in Kieslowski, but instead touching on the formal aspects.

FICTIONAL REALITY

Ever since Gamer, Sentsov's films contain a subtle play with the perception of reality and realism in the framework of a fictional narrative. In Gamer, this is achieved in the ending scene, in Numbers, the stageplay realted mise-en-scène heightens this sense of irreality, Rhino sometimes remains ambiguous in its realism. Real's entire premise leads to an almost obligatory discussion on the realism of its footage.This ambiguity works under different guises, in Sentsov's films, but is a very evident common factor.

SMALL DOSES OF METAPHYSICS

Except for Real, Sentsov's films always had a very limited metaphysical component: be it the dream sequences in Gamer, or the presence of an immanent godlike character in Numbers, or the allegorical nature of Rhino. This metaphysical component remains always limited in its presence, and nowhere as deeply cutting as in the works of the masters of metaphysical cinema, but is often determining in the vaster storyline of Sentsov's films.

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Sentsov's political activism against the russian occupation of Crimea lead to the russian government's persecution in the first place, but it is worth to notice that Sentsov has been openly critical of the ukrainan government in some occasions: Rhino not so subtly implies that the ruling class has deep links to gangster activities, and both in his radio comms in Real and the press tour he has been critical of the military strategy of Ukraine during the 2023 counteroffensive. There are some controversies to Sentsov's ideologies: the casting of Serhii Filimonov in the lead role of Rhino, who is an openly far-right nationalist, or his outspoken blame on "all russians" for the horrors of the ukraine war.

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