Film critic: ‘Bad Roads’ is most humane look at war in Ukraine

It takes courage to step into the shoes of people in the middle of Russia’s war against Ukraine and empathize with both a Donbas resident and a separatist militant. Ukraine’s most-acclaimed screenwriter Natalya Vorozhbit does that in her directorial debut “Bad Roads” and takes us along on the bumpy ride.

The trip is not always pleasant, but it’s essential to understand the region. Unlike other films about the war that Russia started in 2014, “Bad Roads” focuses on what regular humans feel in the crossfire of Ukrainian armed forces and Russian-backed militants. There are no heroes or villains – only people trying to survive.