The world continues to discover Ukrainian culture and to say goodbye to the myth that Ukraine is part of the Russian empire. After just one month of release, Dovbush became the highest-grossing Ukrainian film of the year, and after seven weeks in theaters, its box office gross was approximately UAH 60 million ($1.6 million). In addition, the film has been successfully distributed in other countries, including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and others.
What is the movie Dovbush about?
“Dovbush is an adventure-historical action film based on the legends of Dovbush. The action takes place in the 18th century in the Carpathians. Oleksa Dovbush and Ivan, like other Hutsuls, flee to the forests because of the cruel rule of the nobility, where they unite their brothers to fight. But later, due to the death of their parents and different views on life, the brothers quarrel. One wants money, the other wants justice. Oleksa himself leads the fight against the gentry, terrifying the cruel invaders.
“Dovbush was a man who stood up to defend his land, defending it from the invader! Hard times give birth to real people! Of course, he is a hero! Why did he do it? Because he could!” says actor Serhiy Strelnikov about his hero. This image is very relevant today. The war has become a cradle for the heroes of our time, who, like Oleksa Dovbush, are defending the country. Because they consciously chose this path and because they can defend it!
The movie in numbers
😮Almost 3000 people worked on the film: a film crew of more than 300 professionals and more than 2500 extras.
😮498 actors were involved in the filming of one of the scenes.
😮117 craftsmen worked on making clothes.
😮Dovbush was filmed for 100 days.
😮57 kg of metal elements were used to make the costumes.
😮50 natural and historical locations you will see in the movie.
😮Each of Princess Yablonovska’s dresses weighs 7-10 kg, which, by the way, are created according to the 18th century cut.
😮9 looks were created for the main character.
Interesting facts about the movie
⭐ It is currently the largest Ukrainian film. It is the largest in terms of the number of actors involved in mass scenes, stuntmen, reenactors, and locations.
⭐The directors built at least six locations from scratch: a redoubt near Kyiv, the interior of a kolyba and the interiors of Yablonovska’s castle at Dovzhenko Film Studio, a cheese factory and the exterior of a kolyba on Dragobrat Mountain, and a church burning down.
⭐The most expensive costumes are the hand-embroidered outfits of Princess Yablonovska and Marichka’s wedding dress. It took almost 2 weeks to create the bride’s dress. For the crown, the craftswomen searched for identical feathers in a bag of feathers ordered from a pillow factory.
⭐The most difficult scene is the final battle in the castle. In addition to the main actors, 50 stuntmen and more than 200 actors of mass scenes and reenactors were involved in the shot.
⭐The father of the Polish actress Agata Buzek, who plays Princess Jablonowska, is the former Polish Prime Minister and former President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, who was called “Ukraine’s lawyer.”
⭐ Dovbush’s bartka has an image of a wolf on it. Why a wolf? The director explained this choice: “The wolf is a symbol of freedom, independence, and fearlessness. This animal fights every time to victory or death. Another symbolic feature of the wolf in mythology is justice, because under normal circumstances a wolf does not attack a weaker one. I think Dovbush would not have objected to such a symbol on his weapon.”
⭐For the battle scenes, the actors underwent physical training. Mateusz Kosciukiewicz became a skilled fencer, and Serhiy Strelnikov could probably give a master class in bartka. The Opryshky trained daily in the gym.
