How to Divorce During the War: Harsh Realities of Millennial Activism

How to Divorce During the War follows Marija and Vytas, a Lithuanian couple whose decision to separate collides with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The day after Marija tells Vytas she wants a divorce — and without revealing an ongoing affair — the war lands in their lives, upending routines for them and their daughter, Dovilė.

Director and writer Andrius Blaževičius uses this moment to focus on family strain and the personal costs of political conviction. Both characters express clear support for Ukraine, but in different, often contradictory ways. Vytas returns to his Russian-sympathetic parents, throws rocks at Russian cars, volunteers at a food bank and stages artistic protests, while Marija houses a Ukrainian refugee family, publicly opposes her company's ties to Russia, quits her job and ties a Ukrainian flag to her balcony.

As the crisis drags on, his actions start to feel performative and she grows frustrated with the limits of her charitable gestures.

Lithuania

divorce, war, lithuania, ukraine, andrius blaževičius, marija, vytas, refugee family, russian invasion, activism