A father gives his young daughter driving lessons. They drive aimlessly along the drab streets of a large city. The focus of their conversation is on the twists of life, rather than the street turns. It all looks ordinary, even mundane. Until broken windows, anti-tank hedgehogs and military officers reveal that the story takes place in Kyiv, the war-torn capital of Ukraine.

This is a movie about a father-daughter relationship, and their relationship to the conflict. Director and screenwriter Anastasiya Gruba seeks to reflect upon war without pretentiousness and moralism. She approaches the matter from the perspective of common people, thereby exploring difficult topics and raising uncomfortable question.

Gruba skilfully uses limited means to her advantage. The camera is minimal. Audiences take the back seat, with a restricted view of the faces of the two protagonists. She keeps viewers at a distance, occasionally allowing them to peek over the shoulders of the characters. This distance also applies to the interaction between the father and the daughter, who seem gently alienated from one another. Their exchanges are scattered and fragmented. It is often pauses and glances that give an honest account of their thoughts and personalities. This is a movie populated with stark contrasts and juxtapositions. War becomes normality. Political views do not match. Conversations carry few words and yet a heavy emotional load. It all feels palpably real, almost like a documentary.

The rudderless urban journey becomes a metaphor for life. We constantly have to decide where to turn, how to dodge obstacles, and how to make the best of whatever we come up against. The ticking of the direction indicator becomes the heartbeat of the story. It is a reminder that yet another quick decision has to be made. Be prepared to get drenched once the drumming of the rain gets louder, and the momentous weight of events sinks in.

Driving Lessons shows in the PÖFF Shorts section of the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. This review was written as part of the Film Review Workshop conducted on November 10th, 2024.

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Ursula Toomri is a Tallinn-based film-enthusiast. Curious by nature, she is willing to give every genre and film a chance.