Porcelain War **1/2
It’s not surprising that being caught in a war zone should yield a tangle of thoughts and ideas, but that tangle manifests itself in a documentary by directors Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev that never finds a specific focus. At the outset, we meet Leontyev and his personal/artistic partner Anya Stasenko, as well as their friend and fellow artist Andrey Stefanov as they navigate living through the Russian assault on Ukraine, specifically their home city of Kharkiv. In part, there’s a narrative here about trying to maintain humanity in the middle of such chaos, and how continuing to create art might help facilitate that, with the filmmakers at times employing creative animation of Stasenko’s detailed pieces. It’s also a portrait of how Ukraine has had to rely on civilian soldiers to fend off the invasion, with Leontyev as one of the trainers of these everyday folks-turned-warriors, plus the challenges faced by those (like Stefanov) who have sent away beloved family members to be in safer places. Throw in some you-are-there battlefield footage, and there’s a lot to process here. It’s just hard to figure out what it all adds up to, although Leontyev’s narration is intriguingly poetic as he addresses the justification for using violence in defense of freedom. There’s material here that could be fodder for four or five different documentaries, with the one that we actually have in front of us unable to decide on one definitive concept. Available Jan. 3 at Broadway Centre Cinemas. (NR)

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl ***1/2
For 35 years, director Nick Park and Aardman Animation have turned their trademark duo of enthusiastic, cheese-obsessed amateur inventor Wallace and his patient, steadfast dog Gromit into small wonders of stop-motion plasticine entertainment. For this—the first W&G feature in more than 20 years, and first appearance of any kind since 2008—they return to the series’ history for a typically charming and witty offering. In effect, this is a direct sequel to 1993’s The Wrong Trousers, as imprisoned penguin jewel thief Feathers McGraw manufactures an escape plan that could make use of the new robot garden gnomes invented by Wallace (Ben Whitehead, replacing the late Peter Sallis), and simultaneously allow him to get back at Wallace & Gromit for thwarting his attempted heist all those years ago. In part, the entire plot could be viewed as a subtle swipe at technology, with the human touch still visible in the Aardman style. But even beyond that subtext, there’s Park’s facility for crafting chase sequences that would put most blockbusters to shame, and throwaway bits of droll humor (like Gromit’s reading material including “Virginia Woof”). Mostly, it’s simply a delight to be in the company of these characters again, particularly Gromit with the seemingly infinite expression wrestled out of nothing but his eyes. However many years it takes between these stories to get them right, it’s worth it. Available Jan. 3 via Netflix. (G)