It is a loose film adaptation of the 1971 novel A Flock of Swans by Vasyl Zemliak [uk], and depicts collectivization in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the transition from capitalism to communism in Ukraine.
Babylon XX had a troubled production history, with both a part-time film crew and a backdrop of Soviet repressions on Ukrainian freedom of expression; Ukrainian poetic cinema, the movement to which Babylon XX belonged, was formally banned, and A Flock of Swans itself had been threatened to be banned.
In the early 1920s in Podolia, the village of Babylon has come under the government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, but life has not significantly changed from the times of the Russian Empire.
However, upheaval begins when Red Navy sailor and Babylon native Klym Synytsia[c] (Ivan Havryliuk [uk]) arrives in the village, seeking to build communism and establish a commune.
Noticing the amateur statues of deposed Tsar Nicholas II and his family, Synytsia destroys them with grenades, proclaiming "Polundra!
While working, Darynka notices the wealthy Bubela collecting weapons in an effort to kill Synytsia, fearful that his wealth will be confiscated by the Soviet government, and tells Danko and Lukian.
He sends Malva home with the poet Volodia Yavorskyi[j], a sight which leaves Danko jealous and hungry for revenge.
The process of screenwriting was based on a nativity scene, with separate parts of the script representing high and low culture.
Difficulty was also found in shooting night-time scenes, an issue resolved by cinematographer Yuriy Harmash with the usage of infrared photography.
",[2] and according to public broadcaster Suspilne Kultura, the film's continued production came into question on a daily basis due to government efforts to crack down on poetic cinema and other displays of Ukrainian national identity.
[2] Since the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, Babylon XX has acquired a more significant stature in the realm of Ukrainian culture, growing to the status of a cult classic.