Bad Roads (Russian: Плохие дороги, romanizedPlokhiye dorogi[2], Ukrainian: Погані дороги, romanizedPohani dorohy) is a Ukrainian-Russian-language Ukrainian drama film directed by Nataliia Vorozhbyt and released in 2020. Its world premiere took place on 3 September 2020 at the 35th Venice International Critics' Week, where it was screened in competition.[3] In September 2021 it was selected as the Ukrainian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.[4]

Bad Roads
RussianПлохие дороги
Directed byNataliia Vorozhbyt
Produced byDmytro Minzianov, Yurii Minzianov
StarringZoya Baranovska
Maryna Klimova
Anna Zhuravska
Ihor Koltovskyy
Andriy Lelyukh
Production
company
Kristi Films
Release dates
  • 3 September 2020 (2020-09-03) (Venice)
  • 20 May 2021 (2021-05-20) (Ukraine)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUkraine
LanguageRussian[1]

Plot

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Four short stories are set along the roads of Donbass during the war. There are no safe spaces and no one can make sense of what is going on. Even as they are trapped in the chaos, some manage to wield authority over others. But in this world, where tomorrow may never come, not everyone is defenseless and miserable. Even the most innocent victims may have their turn at taking charge.[5]

Cast

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Film's top cast:[6]

  • Zoya Baranovska as young woman
  • Maryna Klimova as journalist
  • Anna Zhuravska as young girl
  • Ihor Koltovskyy as school principal
  • Andriy Lelyukh as commander

Reception

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Bad Roads has an approval rating of 91% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10.[7] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on critics, indicating "generaly favourable reviews".[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Без Кайдашів та героїв: фільм «Погані дороги» про війну на Донбасі. weekend.today. 2021 (in Ukrainian)
  2. ^ Original title: Plokhiye dorogi. imdb.com. 2020
  3. ^ "Natalya Vorozhbit • Director of Bad Roads". Cineuropa. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Bad roads de Vorozhbyt representará a Ucrania en los Oscar". Ukrinform (in Spanish). 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  5. ^ Bad Roads. reason8films.com. 2020
  6. ^ Погані дороги. Kyiv Critics' Week. 2020 (in Ukrainian)
  7. ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_roads
  8. ^ https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bad-roads?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c
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