Posts Tagged ‘They Who Surround Us’

NEWSTALK 1010: IN DEPTH WITH Rachel Yoder + Terry Fallis + Ali Liebert!

This week on the Richard Crouse Show Podcast we meet Rachel Yoder, author of a new novel called “Nightbitch,” the story of a stay-at-home mom who becomes convinced she’s turning into a dog. The book is a best seller and has been optioned by Amy Adams to be turned into a film.

Then bestselling author Terry Fallis stops by to talk about the long-awaited follow-up to his chart-topping books “The Best Laid Plans” and “The High Road.” It’s called “Operation Angus,” and it’s a comic spy story that heralds the return of Angus McLintock.

And finally in the show we’ll meet Ali Liebert. She is a Canadian Screen Award winner for her work on “Bomb Girls” and can now be seen in “They Who Surround Us,” a poignant drama about a Ukrainian farmer living in Alberta who loses his wife in a tragic accident. It is getting great reviews and we’ll tell you all about it in just a few minutes.

Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Link coming soon)

Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!

Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Ethan Hawke, director Brad Bird, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, Eric Roberts, Brian Henson, Jonathan Goldsmith a.k.a. “The most interesting man in the world,” and best selling author Linwood Barclay.

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THEY WHO SURROUND US: 3 STARS. “low-key look at intergenerational trauma.”

“They Who Surround Us,” now playing in theatres and starring Troy Ruptash, who also stars as the main character Roman, is a melancholy story of intergenerational trauma.

The film opens in 1943 as German soldiers invade seven-year-old Roman’s Ukrainian village, murdering everyone. With his mother and baby brother at his side, the terrified Roman flees into the woods, soldiers in pursuit. When they reach a river, Roman is told to hide, the baby is placed in the river to float away while the mother meets her fate.

Cut to 1987. Roman has built a life as a farmer with wife Kalyna (Vera Graziadei) and eight-year-old son Mykola (Daniel Mazepa). Tragedy reenters his life when Kalyna is killed in a farm accident, leaving him the grief-stricken single father with a business to run.

“Go with God,” his local priest tells him. “God is always with you.”

“Where was God two weeks ago?” he asks.

As old memories flood his head, Roman falls apart. He hits the bottle, and has visions of German soldiers shouting “Find the boy.” He hears gunshots in the distance and pictures his mother in the woods. As his behavior escalates, becoming more and more erratic, Mykola is place in the care of his Aunt Natalia, played by Ali Liebert. With the aid of his family and church, Roman’s fog of grief slowly lifts and he is able to find a new way to live his life. “They will beat us and try to destroy us,” Roman remembers his long-lost Uncle Stefan (Michael Sech) telling him. “Some of us will die but we will rebuild our lives.”

“They Who Surround Us” is a low-key examination of the effects of intergenerational trauma. But just as it examines the life altering effects great personal tragedy it also underscores the healing power of community. Roman discovers he is not an island, that the very people he tried to push away would become his salvation. It’s an uplifting message, perhaps underplayed, that caps off a movie that slowly and carefully details Roman’s pain.

“They Who Surround Us” is a deliberate film, in its slow pace and considered performances that may move too slowly for some viewers, but offers subtle rewards to those who take the ride.