Intercepted (film)

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Intercepted
Film poster
Directed byOksana Karpovych
Written byOksana Karpovych
Produced byRocío Barba Fuentes
Giacomo Nudi
CinematographyChristopher Nunn
Edited byCharlotte Tourrès
Production
companies
  • Les films Cosmos
  • Moon Man
  • Hutong Productions
Distributed byGrasshopper Film (US)
Release date
  • 17 February 2024 (2024-02-17) (Berlin)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesCanada
France
Ukraine
LanguagesUkrainian
Russian

Intercepted (version in Ukrainian: «Мирні люди», romanized: Myrni liudy, lit. 'Peaceful people') is a 2024 Ukrainian-Canadian-French documentary film that merges the intercepted phone calls of Russian soldiers in Ukraine with their families back home with images of the destruction caused by the invasion.[1][2] The film had received criticism for its use of unverifiable phone recordings sourced off the Ukrainian intelligence's YouTube channel[3], leading some to question its authenticity and inherent bias[4][5]. The film is written and directed by Oksana Karpovych and filmed by cinematographer Christopher Nunn.[6]

Synopsis

The film vividly portrays the devastating aftermath of war: shattered homes, demolished bridges, and charred machinery.

The static visuals are accompanied by audio recordings of intercepted phone calls between Russian soldiers and their families, captured by Ukrainian intelligence since the start of the full-scale invasion and regularly published online. In these calls, the soldiers discuss Russia's military ambitions, brag about their victories, boast about the trophies they plan to take home, and share their worries and fears about the direction the invasion is taking. Some admit to having tortured and killed people, including civilians.

Production

The film took approximately two years to complete. Filming began in 2022 and wrapped up in 2023, with footage captured in Donbas, as well as the Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10.[7]

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]

Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "It's easy to write off combatants as just an enemy but Karpovych's film tries to understand them, how and why they've justifying killing civilians on sight, enacting horrifying amounts of torture, or why they're invading Ukraine's borders in the first place. And while the voices of Ukrainians are not featured in Intercepted, their resilience dominates the frame of Karpovych's observational documentary."[9]

Accolades

The film won the Grand Prize for National Feature at the 2024 Montreal International Documentary Festival.[10]

It was a shortlisted finalist for the 2026 Prix Luc-Perreault.[11]

Controversy

Karpovich says she had listened to 31 hours of phone recordings made between March and November 2022, which she downloaded off the Ukrainian intelligence's YouTube channel, "barely changing the order" as she found the order in which they were uploaded developed a natural narrative arc[12][13][14]. This lead some to question their authenticity and the ethics behind using unverifiable material from an intelligence service that is party to the conflict as a basis for a documentary.[15][16] Karpovich had not interviewed any Russian soldiers herself. The use of intercepted material is seen as controversial and potentially manipulative.[17][18][19]

A Berlinale review has questioned if Intercepted is a documentary or "war propaganda".[20][21] A review in Slant Magazine noted that parts of the film are potentially manipulative.[22]

References

  1. Dargis, Manohla (3 October 2024). "'Intercepted' Review: The Awful Intimacy of the War in Ukraine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  2. Smith, Kyle (3 October 2024). "'Intercepted' Review: Eavesdropping on Evil in the Ukraine War". wsj.com.
  3. ""Made Out of Necessity": Oksana Karpovych Discusses the Chronology of 'Intercepted' | International Documentary Association". www.documentary.org. 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  4. "Intercepted movie review & film summary review:". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  5. Klashorst, Marc van de (2024-02-17). "Berlinale 2024 review: Intercepted (Oksana Karpovych)". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  6. Elfadl, Murtada (2024-04-12). "'Intercepted' Review: A Portrait of the War in Ukraine Told Through Haunting Images and Soundscapes". Variety. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  7. "Intercepted". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  8. "Intercepted". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  9. Castillo, Monica (October 2024). "Intercepted". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  10. Pat Mullen, "Intercepted and Republic Top RIDM Winners". Point of View, December 1, 2024.
  11. Charles-Henri Ramond, "Finalistes du Prix Luc Perreault/AQCC 2025". Films du Québec, January 7, 2026.
  12. ""Made Out of Necessity": Oksana Karpovych Discusses the Chronology of 'Intercepted' | International Documentary Association". www.documentary.org. 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  13. "Intercepted movie review & film summary review:". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  14. "Interview: Maintaining Normality within Complete Abnormality". Arsenal Filminstitut e.V. (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  15. Tikkanen, Raimo (2024). "Intercepted Phone Calls at the Russo-Ukrainian War: Cyberoperation or Propaganda Campaign?". www.theseus.fi. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  16. Docu-rev. "Review of 'Intercepted', IMDb". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  17. "Intercepted - The Film Verdict". 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  18. Friedberg, Eli (2024-10-01). "'Intercepted' Review: A Chilly Portrait of the War in Ukraine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  19. dev.login (2019-10-21). "The Admissibility of Illegally Obtained Evidence". Fox Williams. Archived from the original on 2025-07-16. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  20. Klashorst, Marc van de (2024-02-17). "Berlinale 2024 review: Intercepted (Oksana Karpovych)". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  21. "Intercepted - The Film Verdict". 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  22. Friedberg, Eli (2024-10-01). "'Intercepted' Review: A Chilly Portrait of the War in Ukraine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2026-04-02.