A documentary by Yegor Troyanovsky
Cuba and Alaska are the nicknames of Yulia and Olexandra, two women working as medics on the front line of the war in Ukraine. Together, they’re determined to save the lives of wounded soldiers – though the odds are stacked against them, with artillery fire and suicide drones never far away. Even on the rare occasions they’re away from the front line, their conversations inevitably circle back to one thing: returning.
It’s not long into the film before the question surfaces – can such a strong friendship survive the horrors of war?
Directed by journalist and filmmaker Yegor Troyanovsky, Cuba & Alaska captures the grim reality of living and working in a war zone. Alongside body-worn camera footage, Troyanovsky films with the pair directly, adding further intimacy to already powerful scenes. Texts and social media messages are cleverly included too – reminders of everyday digital habits that highlight how ‘ordinary’ lives have been pulled into extraordinary, nightmarish circumstances.
At times, soldiers are shown sheltering in abandoned homes, their interiors offering quiet, eerie glimpses of lives suddenly upended. The narrative unfolds with unexpected turns – the kind you’d never predict from the outset – showing how life finds strange ways of carrying on amid chaos. While the bodycam footage is undeniably gripping, it’s often the quieter, off-duty moments that provide the most insight into how two friends endure the inhumanity of war.
As one of them says at the start of the film: “You don’t have to save the whole world, but at least you should try to save someone. We were very stupid. By the time we realised we were supposed to be afraid, it was too late – and it didn’t matter anymore.”
I won’t be the first to call Cuba & Alaska the Thelma & Louise of war films – but it’s a fitting comparison. It’s essential viewing if we’re ever to make sense of, or stop, the senseless pursuit of war. Oh – and one more reason to watch: Cuba has one of the best laughs ever recorded on film.
