La Palisiada () is a 2023 Ukrainian crime drama neo-noir film written, edited and directed by Philip Sotnychenko in his directorial debut. It premiered worldwide on 29 January 2023 at the 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it received an award from FIPRESCI. It later premiered in Ukraine on 12 October 2023, during the "Kyiv Critics Week". In December 2023, it was the winner of the 41st Torino Film Festival. Recognized as the best film at the Kino festival in Vilnius and won the prize for best direction at the Sarajevo film festival. Awarded the nomination "Best feature-length fiction film" – the National Prize of Film Critics "Kinokolo." It received two awards at the eighth festival of Ukrainian cinema in Poland (Ukraina! 8. Festiwal Filmowy) – best film and best cinematographer. The film was awarded for cinematography and recognized as the best feature film of the festival. Nominated in 14 categories for the "Golden Dzyga" award. Released in Ukraine on 11 January 2024. The film was also shown in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section of 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival (2023).Фільм Філіпа Сотниченка «Ля Палісіада» покажуть в одній із конкурсних програм міжнародного кінофестивалю в Сан-Себастьяні
The idea of the film appeared after the director of the film found out that in 1996, Ukraine was in second place in the world after China in terms of the number of death sentences (89). From 1991 to 1996, more than 600 people were executed.Іронічний детектив — «Ля Палісіада»
Plot A forensic psychiatrist is confronted with the complicated story of the murder of a policeman a few months before the signing of Protocol No. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provided for the rejection of the death penalty.
The film has two storylines: modernity, with which the film begins, and the 1990s, the central core.Останній тиждень прокату «Ля Палісіада»: як відгукується про стрічку кіноспільнота
In the center of the plot is a forensic psychiatrist whose peaceful life changes when he has to take part in the complicated story of the murder of a policeman. The hero begins to doubt the correctness of the law enforcement system when he sees all the lawlessness of conducting judicial experiments on the suspect.Неонуар подвійної натури 1990–х: огляд на «Ля Палісіаду» Філіпа Сотниченка
The city stands up, and finding the killer is a matter of honor.
Forensic psychiatrist Oleksandr (Andriy Zhurba) and his friend, investigator Ilhar (Novruz Pashaev), investigate the murder of their police colleague. Three men were connected by joint work, long-standing friendship, and feelings for one woman. Now, she is the widow of the deceased.
At the film's beginning, we see a story about some hipsters and their problems, which suddenly flows into the story of the investigation in Uzhhorod in 1996. This introductory part can be evaluated depending on your viewing skills: both as a flashback, flashforward, and something parallel. Further, the architecture of this film does not get easier because if you think you are facing a classic detective story about the 1990s, then it is not. After all, a classic detective story is a kind of plot puzzle where different parts, thanks to logic, are combined into a common big picture.
The film's second part is a flashback to the first introductory part. However, it is so large that it feels like the "modernity" of the picture – and therefore, we begin to perceive the introduction as a flashforward to the main one.“Ля Палісіада”: минуле між монтажними склейками
The viewer watches a murky story of two law enforcement officers trying to sew a criminal case with white threads to find the culprit quickly and put him under the firing squad. It is in this haziness "neo-noir" is hidden. The state was just being established, but all around public property was being privatized, competitors were drowning in rivers, and journalists were being deported. It was not clear who was right and who was wrong. Who is the hero, and who is the antagonist? To some extent, the 1990s is the era of solid anti-heroes.
It is a non-linear course of events according to the principle of the Möbius strip.Надмірність мовлення «Ля Палісіада»
Cast Andrii Zhurba, Novruz Pashayev, Valeria Oleynikova, Oleksandr Parkhomenko, Olena Mamchur, Oleksandr Maleev, and Vasyl Maniak played the roles in the film."Ля Палісіада": загадкова назва та понад 600 тисяч за вікенд — розкриваємо успіх фільму Modern Ukrainian artists Yarema Malashchuk and Sana Shakhmuradova are also involved.Як «Ля Палісіада» відтворила українські 90-ті — у костюмах, екстер’єрі сучасних міст і колористиці
The film's authors successfully portrayed the investigator, played by Novruz Pashayev's, as a true specialist and, simultaneously, a caring father. He is an unprofessional actor, a type, and the film's 1st AD.
Igor Kromph notes: "It is worth highlighting Novruz Pashayev's acting because it is so textured and outstanding that you will never believe that Pashayev is an actor and director and not an old wolf of investigative teams. With his charisma, ability to stand and walk in the frame, and a mustache combined with a fur hat – he created the image of a criminal investigation officer of the 1990s very realistically".
Pashayev and Zhurba's tandem is a classic police baddie duo with an adjustment to the post-Soviet reality. The first is a matter-of-fact tracker who tends more to reflexes than to reflections (although not always because there are very tender and intimate scenes with him). Forensic psychiatrist Oleksandr is such a typical (post) Soviet intellectual who not only fell into the rift of the era but into some strange vagrant with the investigation, in addition to the fact that his family is collapsing. Absolute hopelessness and depression in which Alexander tries to hold on with the dignity of a (post) Soviet intellectual. Although major Sabitov and psychiatrist Oleksandr have a lot in common – they are both men tired of life and circumstances that are equally in love with the widow of the murdered colonel, none of them will ever show their feelings. It is best conveyed by the scene of the kitchen feast, where in the yellowish light of an electric bulb with a tungsten filament, there is so much that is not expressed that there is no need to express it. It is clear.
"The cinematography of Volodymyr Usyk deserves special attention. Many scenes were shot in one shot using a retro camera and old tapes, which the creators ordered from all over the world. This technique, as well as Usyk's experience in working with documentary projects, plays a big role in conveying the atmosphere of the late 1990s in a documentary style. It feels like you're watching an old recording of a child's birthday party. "The hand-held camera and long shots convey the flair of old documentaries; at some points, you can't even believe that this is a feature film stylized as a documentary – the filming looks so authentic," says film critic Alyona Shylova.Український неонуар: чим цікавий фільм "Ля Палісіада" Філіпа Сотниченка (рецензія)
Production Work on the project lasted for five years. The production of the film was supported by the State Film Agency of Ukraine. To reconstruct the atmosphere of the 1990s, the authors combined filming on magnetic tape with modern digital technologies and it "gives film a near VHS-feeling". The film crew studied old videos and photos, police videos. According to the director, he was influenced by the decisions and manner of shooting in the 1980s and 1990s, which included the films of Michael Haneke.
Development This film is an author's cinema.Складна вражаюча багатогранність: рецензія на фільм «Ля Палісіада»
Development of the project began in 2018 and took place during COVID-19.
"There were 35 shooting days, each of which was preceded by a rehearsal. During these 5 years, we went through all the stages: from financing from the Ukrainian Cultural Fund and project development to participation in international pitches to a response from Ukrainian State Film Agency, which supported us only the second time," says producer Valeria Sochyvets.Продюсерка «Ля Палісіада» Валєрія Сочивець про українські стереотипи, реалії Держкіно та кризу жанру
The film's plot was rewritten several times, probably to make the events on the screen more unclear.Підґрунтя українського нуару: «Ля Палісіада» Філіпа Сотниченка
The team worked with archival video and photo materials, including those of the Zaporizhzhia police, and consulted with the research staff of the M.I.A. museum. This detailed documentation can be traced both in the work of the cameraman Volodymyr Usyk, who shot with a camera in 1996, and in the work of the set designer Margarita Kulyk, who always carried the family polaroids of that time with her, and also found ideas in the photographs of Oleksandr Chekmenyev. Costume designer Volodymyr Kuznetsov (R.E.P.) looked for iconic pieces of the 1990s, such as leather cloaks, tank jackets, leather jackets, synthetic or fox fur coats, and fur hats.
The authors call their work an ironic detective with elements of documentary and humor. Film viewer Roy Stafford writes that the film's comedy comes more from the small details and how the narrative "immerses" us in investigation.
The film's producer, Sashko Chubko, notes that they didn't want to romanticize the 1990s, and they also didn't want to show "blackness" about those times.
The architecture of La Palisiada is complex. Shooting on this VHS camera is documenting a crime, not the murder of a policeman, but the falsification of the investigation of this murder. Sotnychenko creates a kind of film within a film, where the main characters watch operational videos of investigative experiments on murder, psychiatric examination, and identification process, and the audience watches a video timeline of the falsification of the crime. At the stage of awareness of this process, irritation with the film turns into admiration.
"La Palisiada" is a surprisingly emotional film that speaks about the 1990s through the prism of anti-nostalgia, perhaps the loudest in all Ukrainian cinema.
Filming This film is Philip Sotnychenko's debut in big cinema. Like all directors, he started with short films because there was no other way to build a career in Ukraine. He is a participant and winner of many European festivals. His father had a direct relationship with cinema; he worked at the Kyivnaukfilm studio, so it is not surprising that Philip became interested in this industry. He graduated from Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. His short films "Nail" and "Technical Break" are well known. They are a tributary of "La Palisiada"; they have already marked the beginning of the director's style, reflecting archival footage from the 90s.Ля Палісіада — неприємна естетика 90х For 15 years in the profession, honors and nominations have become almost a thing in Sotnychenko's everyday life.Режисер Філіп Сотниченко — про фільм "Ля Палісіада", нагороди та власні художні смаки
In between filming, after the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Sashko's team won the Pulitzer Prize for the investigation of crimes in Bucha, together with The New York Times and many other international awards.Остання страта в Україні відбулась в 96-му
Filming took place in the Kyiv region and the city of Uzhhorod (Transcarpathia). In addition, in 2021, they shot in Kyiv and the abandoned Bucha penitentiary colony.«Ля Палісіада» представлятиме Україну на «Оскарі»
Film's team filmed by Sony dsr pd170P. DvCam.«Ля Палісіада»: 5 неочікуваних фактів про фестивальний хіт 2023 року
In the film, the director vividly recreates the events of the tumultuous 1990s, in particular, showing the work of the police at that time. It was 1996, five months before the abolition of the death penalty.