Mark Reviews Movies: A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS

A House Made of Splinters, Giant Pictures

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Review by Mark Dujsik | February 20, 2023

War rages about 12 miles from the children's shelter at the heart of A House Made of Splinters, a documentary that shows how life continues, even in its everyday miseries, in the midst of military conflict. "Hope dies last," says one of the workers at the shelter, which houses children from broken homes until a court rules on the parent or parents' legal status. It's meant to be an optimistic statement, as does director Simon Lereng Wilmont's film, but the phrasing of it reveals a painful truth. The thing that dies last still dies, after all.

The people who work at this shelter in Lysychansk, in Eastern Ukraine and since occupied by Russia after the time of filming, are hopeful about the lives they tend to for up to nine months at a time. Marharyta Burlutska, who has worked there for a couple decades, tries to make sure the children in her temporary care leave with the best opportunity possible, but after working in such a place for so long, she has seen a cycle of learning and experience.

A child who grows up witnessing a parent drink to excess when things become difficult, as they especially have with the most recent and ongoing Russian invasion, may likely do the same in his or her own life later. Burlutska has seen the children of children whom she previously cared for come to the shelter, and it's difficult to feel too optimistic about what we see when that reality is put so plainly.

Wilmont's approach, though, does cut through some layer of that cynicism or pragmatism, depending on one's perspective. The film follows three specific children, each of whom comes to the shelter because of alcoholic and negligent parents. We meet Eva, whose mother forgets or refuses to visit her daughter in the shelter, and the hope is that the court will agree to make the girl's grandmother her legal guardian. There's also Sasha, who makes a best friend by playing rough with fellow resident Alina, and a happy resolution for one child, obviously, will mean heartbreak for the other.

Finally, we meet Kolya, the eldest sibling of three, who starts hanging out with older kids, gets into some trouble, and receives some straight talk from a local cop. He's a good kid, especially when he's caring for his younger brother and sister, but anger at his mother, stepfather, and situation are establishing patterns of behavior that might threaten that relationship. The horrible reality, of course, is that circumstances beyond the boy's control might be a bigger threat to the siblings staying together.

Wisely, A House Made of Splinters simply observes the day-to-day routines, moments of happiness, and constant fear these children experience. It's difficult to watch at times, because the devastation in these lives is so common, and while Wilmont might try a bit too hard to give us some positivity in all of this despair, the heartbreaking realities of this situation are never lost.

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