On October 29, the wide release of the crime comedy "Glad Mom Doesn't Know" directed by Sasha Lytvynenko kicked off in Ukrainian cinemas. The film combines four novellas about members of the same family, whose secrets hidden from loved ones gradually draw them into dangerous adventures. According to the creators, it took eight years from developing the idea to bringing the film to the big screen — a period that spanned the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's full-scale invasion.
Four novellas of one family
At the center of the plot are music producer Max, theater actress Slava, and IT specialist Borya. They all belong to the same family, yet each hides their own story from close ones. Max is bogged down in debt and criminal cases: while he looks for a way out of a difficult situation, he is hunted by those he owes. Slava faces an armed bandit backstage at the theater, and an ordinary evening turns into a situation with very real danger for her. After the death of his loved one, Borya decides to punish the culprit himself, but his plan begins to collapse almost immediately. As the creators note, some details of the script grew out of the director's personal experience and stories from his acquaintances, while the characters have their own motives, weaknesses, and secrets, and their decisions trigger subsequent events.
Eight years of work and war
The history of the film's creation intersected with key events of recent years. As the authors shared, in March 2022, director Sasha Lytvynenko and producer Yevhen Lytvynenko, along with their family, were taken captive in Bucha. They carried discs with the film's materials with them. The family survived, and the footage, according to the creators, was successfully preserved.
Losses and service of part of the team
During the war, actors Pasha Li and Yuriy Felipenko, as well as stuntman Kostyantyn Ahapov, were killed. For Pasha Li, this picture became one of his last works in cinema. According to the creators, part of the cast and crew is currently serving in the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
Visual style and cinematic influences
The atmosphere of the film, according to the team, was created through light, color, frame composition, and music; visual markers and references were embedded in individual scenes. "Given the crime genre of the film, this style very organically became part of its atmosphere and helped tell the story precisely the way we felt it," Sasha Lytvynenko explained. Among the directors who influenced his cinematic taste, Lytvynenko names the Coen brothers, noting the appeal of multifaceted characters and the combination of criminal stories with irony, drama, and a expressive visual atmosphere.
Creators and premiere screenings
The film stars Pasha Li, Kostyantyn Temlyak, Leia Mayevska, Roman Mulenko, Oleksiy Vorotnikov, Katya Skrypko, and Yuriy Felipenko, among others. The producers are Yevhen Lytvynenko and Oles Maliarevych, with music written by Tymofiy Reshetko. The film was created by Kinomedia and Lytvynenko Films with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency. The audience of the Odesa International Film Festival were the first to see the picture, with the screening taking place on September 2. On October 27, the film was presented at a pre-premiere in Kyiv's Oscar cinema at the Gulliver shopping mall, attended by the creators, film industry representatives, media, and the cultural community; during the evening, the LAUD band performed the film's main soundtrack live.
