An introverted high-school girl Masha sees herself as an outsider unless she hangs around with Yana and Senia who share her non-conformist status. While she is trying to navigate through an intense time of the pre-graduation year, Masha falls in love that forces her to leave her comfort zone. From a debutant Ukrainian director Kateryna Gornostai, a deeply personal story about self-discovery and the patience it requires.... (Full plot summary below)
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An introverted high-school girl Masha sees herself as an outsider unless she hangs around with Yana and Senia who share her non-conformist status. While she is trying to navigate through an intense time of the pre-graduation year, Masha falls in love that forces her to leave her comfort zone. From a debutant Ukrainian director Kateryna Gornostai, a deeply personal story about self-discovery and the patience it requires.
Leave your thoughts about Stop-Zemlia.
| Film ThreatAlex SavelievWith the keen eye of a seasoned documentarian, the filmmaker captures all the depression, anxiety, boredom, love, loathing, and insecurity of seemingly apathetic teens, her gaze never mocking or judging. |
| The GuardianCath ClarkeThis gentle, authentic-feeling coming-of-age drama from Ukrainian film-maker Kateryna Gornostai premiered at the Berlin festival in 2021. Released in the UK almost a year to the day since the Russian invasion, her film has become unbearably poignant. |
| Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshThe sensually crafted Stop-Zemlia is a fine conduit to bring forth those visceral sense memories of teenage life |
| TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanThe press notes for Stop-Zemlia call Kateryna Gornostai’s coming-of-age story “radical, authentic, and sensitive.” The latter two descriptors are accurate. The movie’s power, however, comes not from any radicalism but from how authentically ordinary it feels. |
| The PlaylistKevin JagernauthUtilizing non-professional actors, and blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, Stop-Zemlia is a sympathetic portrait of the tidal forces of teenagehood. Yet, despite the film’s quiet sprawl and yearning ambition, Gornostai’s painstakingly observant eye never uncovers fresh insight into the thrumming heart of that transformative moment. |
| Movie NationRoger MooreLacking a more coherent organizing principle than “fly on the wall/slice of life” renders Stop-Zemlia — which takes its title from a sort of long-running game of slap-tag — somewhat colorless, if not entirely pointless. |
| User ReviewhardkotMy generation Great heartwarming film about school time. I feel a lot of emotions after watching this film. I've graduated school 10 years ago but the picture is so true how I feel that time and how it goes now in Ukraine. This film has great ending with great thoughts after it, unlikely to modern pop-corn dramas like "Euphoria". Great music, great visual, so nostalgic. I can definetely recomend this film to all parents and teens. |
