How to Divorce During the War (Skyrybos karo metu)

A hallmark of Blaževičius’s films is the recurring pair Marija and Vytas. The stories are not sequels, but each introducing a new Marija and Vytas facing their own troubles. Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė returns as Marija for the second time, while Marius Repšys has played Vytas in all but one short. In Blaževičius’s previous feature “Runner”, Marija searched for a missing Vytas. This time, she's the one trying to get away.

Vytas is a film director who has yet to repeat the success of his blockbuster “The Boys”. Struggling with a new script, he also runs the household and drives their daughter Dovilė around. Marija is a creative executive at an online content company. Her simplistic social media ads attract thousands of likes, yet she feels trapped in their comfortable flat, her dreams of a magical life with Vytas long gone.

One morning, while taking Dovilė to school, Marija tells Vytas that she is leaving him. Nothing will change her mind. The next day, war breaks out in Ukraine, forcing their personal crisis to unfold alongside a much larger one.

Edvinas Pukšta