What if War Plays Non-War?

The article explores the film Additional Scenes by Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk through the concept of normality in the context of war. This experimental film questions the medium of cinema, as well as traditional moralistic storytelling. The artists use chopped narratives, abruptly cut scenes and unexpected shifts to create a particularly non-linear story that merges reality and fiction. Featuring Pavlo Aldoshyn, an actor who joined the military, the film questions the possibility of storytelling and normality when the distance between reality and possible narrative vanishes and everyday life becomes more exceptional than the experience of terror. The film delves into the exhaustion caused by wartime, the pressures of mobilised realities, and the psychological state of constant worry and overthinking. Additional Scenes invites viewers to reconsider their understanding of normality and offers a nuanced reflection on the essence of being.