‘Under the Volcano’ Review: A Ukrainian Family’s Vacation Turns Into Wartime Exile in Simmering Drama
variety.comStephen Saito “Why is there snow if it’s a volcano?” Fedir (Fedir Pugachov) throws out a seemingly innocent question to his family while wandering around Mount Teide in Spain.
But it’s one of many that has become far more difficult to answer for his father Roman (Roman Lutskyi) and stepmother Nastya (Anastasiia Karpienko,) as the Ukrainian family’s holiday in the Canary Islands becomes a permanent trips amid the Russian invasion of their home country.
Telling their six-year-old what’s falling upon them is burnt ash, and not snow, would be piercing an illusion they’d rather he hold onto — one of many in Damian Kocur’s cleverly conceived drama “Under the Volcano.” At first, the greatest concern Roman and Nastya have is whether they’ll find a spot for their car near the beach on the last day of their vacation, having no idea that they’re about to be parked there indefinitely.
Still, even before their teenage daughter Sofiia’s phone blows up the night before their flight home, there are indications that this hasn’t been a carefree week in paradise as Roman’s kids are still adjusting to his new wife.
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