Konowal (2017)

Telling the story of Filip Konowal, the only Ukrainian Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross, this movie is a poignant and poetic exploration of the complicated relationship we have with our returning Vets, exploring emotional issues that still resonate today. Konowal receives the VC for his part in the Battle of Hill 70. Over two days in August of 1917, he kills more than 16 German soldiers, several with his bare hands. Upon his return to Canada he is welcomed as a hero. But when he suffers severe PTSD, not even a medal from the King can protect him from a government in Ottawa eager to save money and forget the war. Locked away in an asylum in Montreal, he is threatened with deportation to the USSR where he would face imprisonment or worse. Yet miraculously, with the support of his army comrades, Konowal prevails.