The biracial Ukrainian Arina Volesky (Helena Howard) walks with a look of resignation on her face. She is returning to the ostensible mansion based in Kyiv, Ukraine, and surrounded by threatening security guards who feel more like they are out of some shady criminal organisation or polemical mercenary company. They guide her to the man of the house, Oleksandr Volesky (Reeve Carney), a White Ukrainian with an androgynous face wearing Versace to further enhance his own sense of grandiose and contrasting with Arina’s humble figure. After dinner with matriarch Mrs Natascha Volesky (Kym Wilson), mother of Oleksandr, who assures Arina that she has an easy life, the couple moves to a dimly lit bedroom. As Arina bares her brown back, marks of scratches and cuts can be seen as if her flesh was turned into a Goya painting, Oleksandr prepares his heavy gold belt for one more session of abuse, dominance and crime. At the same time, Arina just asks for her face to be spared as their son shouldn’t have to see his mother in such a state.
Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri’s short film ‘Reunited’ (2023) doesn’t hold back and gets out of the gates with a powerful start, stating its message against domestic violence and abuse perpetuated against women and children who immigrate to other countries to flee from abusive husbands and fathers. The story shows how flawed the Hague Convention is, which is a series of treaties and conventions that should protect those under abusive paternal figures.
‘Reunited’ is produced by White Ribbon USA nonprofit, with the Hague Domestic Violence Project at Berkley, and makes a strong point contesting the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry adoptions. The Hague Convention should operate to safeguard women and children who have lived traumatic experiences and are fleeing their abuses, still it is still flawed and allows them to return to the place they are trying to leave.
The White Ribbon USA-supported film states in an onscreen message that: “Under the Hague Convention, women and children refugees from domestic violence are being sent back to the dangerous men from whom they fled. This film presents a 2014 case: California Courts sent a Ukrainian refugee’s 3-year-old son back to an abusive father, despite acknowledging child and mother faced a ‘grave risk.’” These words make ‘Reunited’ even more chilling to absorb as they show what life is like for these broken families.
The short film features outstanding acting from Helena Howard, a ranged actress who was praised for having one of the best performances of the last decade by IndieWire and The New Yorker. Howard, who conveys pain and desperation as the mother trying to make ends meet in Los Angeles while barely speaking English, while also trying to hide her stress with sweetness from her son, Andriy Volesky, played with eagerness by child actor Jaden Joyner, who is convincing in the role.
The talented Reeve Carney plays the violent father, and director Indrani brings the best out of him to conceive a villain that hides his darkness under politeness and angelical looks, which makes him even more terrifying and someone who would fit in the world of David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises’ (2007). Other members of the cast also have sparkling turns by dancer-turned-actress Carlene Britch playing Arina’s roommate and main supporter, Maria Lopez, and ‘Superman’s (2025) Edi Gathegi as Arina’s lawyer Matthew McConnell, who gives her a stern but realistic scenario of her changes of avoiding her former husband.
Indrani, before becoming a film director, was an acclaimed photographer who moved up the ranks and directed videos for David Bowie, Beyoncé, among others. Indrani’s accurate eyesight comes into cinematography as she uses the environment to tell the tale in an intriguing way that deepens the story and the feelings those characters are dealing with or trying to convey to others. While Lopez’s house may be a humble residence, it conveys a sense of safety; on the other corner, Volesky’s mansion is a symbol of dominance and oppression, and the public buildings can feel more like dungeons than places that hold institutions to help those in need. Indrani also knows how to subtly incorporate the subjects of race, nationality, and gender in ways that are missed in modern cinema.
‘Reunited’ was released in 2023, but it resounds even more today, considering the push back on women’s rights and the anger towards immigrants that we are seeing around the globe, making it a recommended material for Law Schools, Human Rights organisations, activist groups against child and women abuse, and so on. ‘Reunited’ also has the characteristics of becoming a major live-action feature film or prestige TV series.
