The Russia-Ukraine war has been dubbed the first “audible” war, with ubiquitous mobile coverage among troops and civilians providing an unprecedented window into the minds of those involved. The documentary “Intercepted” taps into this, juxtaposing Russian soldiers’ frontline phone calls with harrowing visuals of the devastation they’ve inflicted. The result is a stark, unsettling portrait of how Vladimir Putin’s warped worldview has infected the psyche of his people.
Casual Imperialism
Set against a backdrop of ransacked homes, bombed-out gas stations, and dimly lit shelters, the intercepted conversations hammer home a disturbing normalization of imperialist aggression. Jokes about looting and offhand slurs against Ukrainians abound, as if waging war on a sovereign neighbor is all in a day’s work.
“A Russian is not a Russian if they don’t steal something,” quips one woman to her frontline boyfriend.
The troops parrot Putin’s lies about fighting fascists, while expressing amazement at Ukraine’s relative prosperity – hinting at an economic envy that makes such fictions more palatable. Scenes of callous plunder and ruin form a grim counterpoint to the glib banter, laying bare the human toll.
Voices of Dissent
Not all are true believers. “Putin cares about the land, not the people,” one soldier remarks. But what’s most chilling is how the women on the other end – mothers, wives, girlfriends – often egg on the invaders with even more fervor.
“If I got there too, I would enjoy it like you,” a mother tells her son after he gleefully recounts torturing prisoners. “You and I, we are the same.”
With civilians blithely endorsing the murder of their Ukrainian counterparts, the film viscerally shows how deeply Putin’s venom has penetrated Russian society. The dissonance between the atrocities described and the banality with which they’re discussed is gut-wrenching.
Eavesdropping on Evil
Director Oksana Karpovych’s access to these wiretaps, likely via Ukrainian intelligence, does raise questions about completeness and editorial choice. Still, there’s no denying the blunt force of the raw material.
The intercepted audio, frequently overpowering the visuals, creates a jarring sensory experience that pierces the post-truth fog of war. We are flies on the wall of unvarnished evil, bearing witness to how readily conscience can be contorted.
“Intercepted” is a difficult but necessary document, using the aggressors’ own words to indict a campaign of cynical conquest and wanton cruelty. In a conflict that’s been framed by Putinist misinformation, it serves as an unflinching reality check, straight from the lips of the invaders.
