Bruegel’s Vision in a Modern War Zone
In Time to the Target, director Yaroslav Pilunsky captures his Ukrainian hometown, Lviv, under Russian missile attacks with a cinematic style inspired by 16th-century Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The documentary’s haunting visuals—ordinary life persisting amid chaos—draw direct parallels to Bruegel’s paintings of peasant struggles and apocalyptic landscapes.
In an exclusive interview, Pilunsky explains how Bruegel’s The Triumph of Death and The Harvesters influenced his portrayal of resilience. “Bruegel’s crowds endure famine and war with eerie normalcy,” he says. “That’s Lviv now: people praying, working, and playing as sirens wail.”
Bruegel’s Echo in Scenes of Survival
One standout sequence mirrors The Procession to Calvary: elderly women kneel outside a shattered church, backlit by flames. Pilunsky notes, “Destruction has its own rhythm—Bruegel understood that.” The film’s static, panoramic shots force viewers to confront war’s grim reality, much like Bruegel’s detailed tableaus.
Beauty Amidst Ruin
From children playing in rubble to bakers delivering bread under drone strikes, Time to the Target finds fleeting grace in devastation, echoing Bruegel’s Children’s Games. “The most painful moments aren’t explosions but adaptations—like couples dancing in basements,” Pilunsky reflects. Critics hail the film as “Bruegel come to life,” a label the director embraces: “Showing humanity’s stubborn glow was my goal.”
Now streaming after its Venice premiere, Time to the Target is a testament to Lviv’s unbroken spirit.
— Reported by [Your Name], NextMinuteNews
