The Guardian published a review of the film *I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming*
The Guardian published a review of the film *I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming* by German director Isabel Stever. The screenplay was written by Ukrainian critic-turned-screenwriter Anna Melikova. The review, presented in the context of the Locarno Film Festival, describes the film as exploring war, language, culture, and gender identity.
According to the plot, after Russia—the aggressor state—launches its attack on Ukraine, Olia and Oleg, who recently got engaged, set off for the western part of the country in Olia’s elderly parents’ car. They are heading to Olya’s sister, who has a young child; her husband, despite his wife’s outrage, has enlisted in the army. Oleg plans to eventually leave Ukraine and live with Olya in Germany.
Oleg is a transgender man who has not yet come out to his future in-laws. In its summary of the story, The Guardian notes that the ban on men aged 18 to 60 leaving Ukraine poses a problem for him. At the border, he intends to deny his gender identity and claim that he is a woman in order to obtain permission to leave the country.
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Oleg also wants to present a psychiatric certificate, which was initially intended to confirm the psychological validity of his gender transition. In a scene with Ukrainian female border guards, they refuse to take into account what he is wearing under his clothes and insist that he must remain in Ukraine.
Another scene takes place at a local market, where a Russian-speaking woman faces a hostile reaction because of the language she speaks. The argument escalates into a fight, during which Oleg ends up with a black eye. The reviewer also draws attention to Olia’s family: her mother has come to terms with problems in her marriage, while her sister is distraught over her husband’s decision to join the military. According to The Guardian, the war challenges Olia and Oleg’s views on their relationship and identity.
