Animal Kingdom

Ukrainian Edition

Vareniki/Pierogi. The words mean the same thing, with vareniki being popular in Russia and Ukraine and pierogi used further west, like in Poland. My grandparents were from the Galicia region, which spans across the Ukrainian-Polish border. In their home, and subsequently in our home, we called these potato filled dumplings pierogi.

Animal Kingdom, 2010, written and directed by David Michôd, starring Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, James Frecheville, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, and Sullivan Stapleton. Don't recognize those names? That's because it's an Australian movie. A tense, dark, unsettling crime drama. Very well done, but don't expect to walk away feeling warm fuzzies.