The Witch. Revenge (Ukrainian: Konotopska Vidma) is a Ukrainian horror-fantasy film released in 2024 and directed by Andriy Kolesnyk. It combines the story of a supernatural revenge narrative with the folklore surrounding “Konotop Witch.” The movie depicts, from the lens of magic, grief, and feminine resistance, the culture and emotional trauma that Ukraine has dealt with for years which expands during the Russian war in 2022.
Synopsis
This story starts in Ukrainian Konotop, a town infamous for its past conjuring magic and associated with all sorts of bizarre phenomena. Here, we are introduced to Olena, a woman who gave up her great magical prowess to live a quiet life with her fiancé Andriy. She achieved peace at last, having surrendered to love and sober life.
But, in February of 2022, tranquility is violently disrupted. Russian soldiers march into Konotop in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While Olena and Andriy attempt to escape the suffocating chaos and occupation of the city, a brutal altercation occurs and Andriy is shot dead before Olena’s eyes. Wracked with grief and infuriated, Olena begins her painful metamorphosis. No longer able to linger in the background, Olena recalls her slumbering divinely ordained powers and becomes a vessel of supernatural requital.
While reconnecting to the power of her ancestry and ancient rituals, Olena wages a terrifying campaign of retribution against the soldiers that occupy her land. The powers that were once latent within her now rise to the surface as a merciless force of nature. In time, she becomes a living legend – feared by her enemies and cherished by the oppressed – as the embodiment of “The Witch of Konotop.”
The story is painted as an ominous odyssey of justice and sorrow with Olena traversing through the haunting forests, ravaged villages, and battlefields, all while being pursued by those intent of destruction. Throughout her journey, she encounters other survivors as well as her aunt Yevdokiia and a band of resistance fighters. Along with her internal confrontations, she battles the external cost of vengeance and power’s burden.
Cast and Performances
Olena, portrayed by Tetiana Malkova, delivers an exceptional performance that carries the very soul of the film. Her richly layered performance oscillates from tenderness to otherworldly wrath, devoid of any emotion. You understand everything from the way Malkova captivates a grief stricken woman who struggles to find strength in her shattered world. She screams. Instead, she finds the will to embrace her grief.
Taras Tsymbaliuk gives life to Andriy, who has very little screen time yet supplies the emotional anchor around which Olena turns. His deaths serves as both a powerful memory and a haunting reminder of lost tranquility, which perpetually lingers throughout the film.
The supporting roles are filled by Olena Khokhlatkina as Aunt Yevdokiia, Ivan Sharan as Bandos and Pavlo Vyshniakov as Rovnyi. All these parts add a layer of cultural identity in combination with the Ukrainian civilian and spiritual identity in wartime.
Motifs and Meaning
Mythology and Contemporary Warfare
The Witch: Revenge is, in essence, a modern myth. A story revisiting frightening forces in the context of catastrophe while drawing upon ancient ones. The film resurrects the Konotop Witch legend is not just a plot component; it serves as a sadness-ridden cultural metaphor. This archetype of the witch embodies both a survivor and a soldier: a vessel of ancestral wrath, whose vengeance is woven into otherworldly retribution.
In blending fact with the literal, the film proposes that warfare’s senseless brutality can be interpreted through the prism of folklore. It serves as an act of reclaiming one’s identity, more specifically in Ukrainian identity, attempting to emerge from the reality of erasure culturally and physically.
Grief and Empowerment
Olena’s tale depicts one of despair’s offspring—empowerment. Her arc shatters the “suffering woman” stereotype by not only granting agency but massive power. Her revenge is not chaotic or vengeful. It is, however, incisive, just, and deeply intimate. In the film, Uliana’s supernatural transformation attempts to show how grief can foster resistance and rebirth.
Cultural Identity and Resistance
The film’s primary motif is the “Witch’s Amulet,” which merges a historical piece of the Helm of Awe rune together with the folk embroidery pattern of Sumy region in Ukraine. This mark serves as an emblem of defiance and pride. It exists as a symbol of protection but also as a symbol of fear for the colonizers. The emblem unites the folklore past of Ukraine with its contemporary fight for independence, accentuating that culture, language, and history are not only decorative elements—they are tools for fighting for existence.
Direction and Cinematography
Bringing this story into life, Director Andriy Kolesnyk makes use of rich visual language. The ethereal beauty of Ukraine’s forests, war-torn cities, and the magical world that envelops Uliana is captured through the camera of Kostiantyn Ponomarov. The film has to do with the light and shade which reinforces the duality of realism and fairy tale.
There is restraint and artistry in the execution of the horror elements. Instead of jump scares or brutal violence, the film focuses on dread—broken chants, soft whispers, lingering shots, and silence. The true horror is not ghosts and witches, but human violence and cruelty.
Cultural Reception and Impact
The Witch: Revenge struck a chord with the Ukrainian public. It stayed in national theaters for fourteen weeks, amassing ticket sales of over 350,000 and earning ₴57.4 million. This success secured its position as one of the top three most successful horror films in the history of Ukrainian cinema.
Critics lauded the film for its emotional complexity, rich in bold narrative, national trauma, and genre storytelling. It became more than mere entertainment. It served as a symbolic preservation of culture. During real-life horror, the Konotop Witch emerged as a symbol of fictional hope and spiritual vengeance.
Conclusion
The Witch. Revenge transcends being simply a horror film; it is also a warrior’s scream, an apparition’s tale, and a mythical recollection. It gives voice, through Olena, to the silenced memories of suffering because of war, enduring strength of a nation, and pain that refuses to acknowledge its surrender.
The film’s ability to intertwine the folklore of ancient history and geopolitical reality of today is what makes The Witch. Revenge an exceptionally unique film to watch.
It replenishes the reminder that magic is present in resistance, and in grief, even the darkest time can conceal the essence of rejuvenation.
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