Together with his cameraman riding shotgun, Hamela ferries a constant stream of families, seniors, students, and a few cats across the Polish border. Thanks to his Russian fluency, he is unusually well-qualified for the job, which frequently requires Hamela to talk his way through checkpoints.
It quickly becomes clear a generation of Ukrainian children have been deeply traumatized by the invasion. Families have been fractured, trapped in different shelters, unable to contact each other for long stretches of time—if they are lucky. Of course, many of Hamela’s passengers have lost loved ones.
Hamela’s film might also explain why the DRC is one of the few African nations that have spoken out against Putin’s war. It turns out Hamela’s minivan sometimes doubles as an official ambulance, as when he delivers a gravely injured woman from Kinshasa to a Polish hospital better equipped to treat her. According to his patient-passenger, Russian troops opened fire on her and a group of fellow Congolese students, even though they obviously did not look Ukrainian. Nevertheless, they were still potential witnesses to Russian crimes against humanity.
Obviously, the film’s severe vehicle-bound constraints somewhat limit its scope, but Hamela certainly excels at multi-tasking. He also records the testimony of many Ukrainians, entering their experiences into the public record. Again, if you only watch one documentary covering the war in Ukraine, it should probably be Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mauripol, but Hamela’s film is still a very important primary source. Highly recommended, In the Rearview releases today (8/16) on VOD.
