As a society, we are spending more and more of our time online. It is no surprise then that the screen-life sub-genre has become so popular. Those with an appetite for this particular brand of storytelling should definitely add Eva Strelnikova’s directorial debut, Stay Online, to their watch list.
Stay Online is a bold debut, both in terms of its content and creation. Filmed on location in Kyiv, Stay Online is both set and was filmed during the early phase of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The film opens with the information that, during the first few weeks of the invasion, Ukrainian companies and individuals donated thousands of laptops to volunteers, territorial defence forces, and armed forces of the Ukraine. Stay Online tells the story of one volunteer, Katya (Yelyzaveta Zaitseva), who while using a donated laptop, receives a call from the owner’s son. Realising that the boy has been separated from both his parents, Katya begins a frantic search for them, but can she locate them before it’s too late?
Although a work of fiction, Stay Online has plenty of facts within its frames. The story here may be heightened, but elements of it will reflect the real experiences of those living in the Ukraine at that time. Despite its more convenient narrative moments, Stay Online could easily be a blend of several real accounts. The viability and probable truth within ensures that Stay Online is a horribly intense watch; Strelnikova expertly captures the feelings and emotions of the situation. The audience can feel Katya’s fear, frustration and anger, with Zaitseva giving an accurate portrayal of how many citizens of the Ukraine felt during that initial wave of terror.
Although told via the screen-life format, Strelnikova does not concern herself with following the preset conventions to the letter. When the moment calls for it, Strelnikova spins the camera around, allowing the viewer a proper look at protagonist Katya. The first time the camera pulls focus and pans around to Katya is jarring for the viewer. Those schooled in screen-life media are accustomed to only seeing what appears on a monitor screen. The reveal of the women previously seen only on the laptop in her real surroundings comes as a shock. It breaks down the virtual barrier, making Katya’s story more personal than some of Stay Online’s screen-life peers.
The move from screen to behind is important as this is a story about Katya, not those within the computer. In Searching for example, the drive of the story is to find a missing teenage girl. Although it is her dad that is hunting for her, he is not the focus of the story, the missing girl and her life is. It’s a similar tale in the recently released Missing. In Stay Online Strelnikova and co-writer Anton Skrypets are telling Katya’s journey. The war backdrop and missing child in peril elements are only seasoning. They provide the setting and context, but it is Katya and her development that form the true narrative.
Upon her introduction, Katya is a somewhat cocky young woman. She is spurred by her hatred of the Russians and the pain they are causing her country. An early scene in which she taunts some of her enemies is unpleasant, Its inclusion is warranted though as it gives Katya somewhere to go. Over the course of Stay Online Katya changes, becoming much more open and emotionally mature. As she evolves, so do the viewers’ feelings toward her and by the nerve-fraying finale, the audience feel as though they are in the room with Katya. Her journey is one of finding humanity lost as a result of brutal treatment and watching her claw it back is fascinating. Zaitseva is astounding as Katya; as an actor filming during the war, her own feelings and anxieties seep into the role making her performance a confronting blurring of the lines between fact and fiction.
Stay Online is an incredible feat of film-making for many reasons, the overriding one being when, and where, it was filmed. The real world implications of Stay Online make it a heavy watch. As much as one can tell that this is just a film, Strelnikova has tapped into a deep enough vein of truth that Stay Online feels too close to reality to enjoy as a work of fiction. Instead, Stay Online presents an unflinching study of humanity and its potential for malice and care. Strelnikova’s story easily conjures moments of dread, and suffocating tension whilst hammering the guts with a sledgehammer of emotional turmoil. A revelation for the screen-life genre, Stay Online is far more than a clever story gimmick. A fictitious, but entirely viable premise, Strelnikova’s debut is a valid recording of modern warfare.
Stay Online
Summary
Filled with moments of high tension and gut-punches of emotion, this extremely topical thriller is sure to be the talk of Fantasia.
Stay Online was reviewed at Fantasia International Film Festival 2023.
