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The Ascent, 1977
During WW2, two Russian partisans, Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) go on an ill-fated mission to find food for their group. During a skirmish with some German officers, Sotnikov is wounded and the two must seek safety and shelter. But due to the complex political situation between the partisans, the German army, and the citizens in the countryside, every action they take threatens to have consequences they did not anticipate.
This is a harrowing film about morality and solidarity, and the difference between wanting to live and not wanting to die. At the center of the film is the contrast between Sotnikov, who has accepted the possibility of his death and wants only the comfort of companionship and knowing he did the right thing, and Rybak who is more willing to compromise his loyalties in the name of surviving.
The film makes the most of a bleak, snowy country landscape. In certain sequences it feels as if the characters have died already and are afloat in some kind of purgatory. While the film begins with more thrilling elements--like the encounter with the Germans and Sotnikov and Rybak's attempts to evade the Germans--it later settles into a deeper drama that examines what people are willing to do when presented with almost certain death.
As with many great films about the cost of war, The Ascent keeps the question of "everyday people" always on its radar. There is no such thing as neutrality for the citizens in this situation. When someone arrives in your home unexpectedly, you must either hide them or report them. And each of those acts involves taking a side. Later in the film, the two partisans arrive in the home of a single mother named Demchikha (Lyudmila Polyakova). In her despair and conflict over what to do about her new arrivals, we see a woman who is being pulled apart by both sides of the conflict.
Plotnikov and Gostyukhin make for a great pair as the leads. Plotnikov manages to convey a character who is at once haunted by what may happen to him and yet firm in his own sense of morality. Sotnikov seems to have accepted death in the first ten or fifteen minutes of the film, merely waiting for exactly when and how. Gostyukhin's Rybak is haunted in a different way. We see in him a much more animal desire to live, possibly at any cost. And yet Rybak does clearly have a great affection for his companion. In one sequence, a wounded Sotnikov leans too long against a tree and becomes frozen to it. Rybak must use his breath to warm the space between the man and the tree to free his friend. The two experience a degree of physical and emotional intimacy, making their divergent choices in the last act all the more impactful.
While the film certainly has a very distinct political context, its themes about morality and survival are the kind that can translate to someone who isn't very familiar with this particular historical situation. In fact, the movie frequently leans into being almost more of a religious piece (a character is literally called "Judas" at one point, in case certain parallels weren't clear enough).
I was very interested to read more about the woman who made this film, Larysa Shepitko, and very sorry to hear that she died at a young age in a car accident. Also, she was married to Elem Klimov, who made Come and See. What a talented pair!
The Ascent, 1977
During WW2, two Russian partisans, Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) go on an ill-fated mission to find food for their group. During a skirmish with some German officers, Sotnikov is wounded and the two must seek safety and shelter. But due to the complex political situation between the partisans, the German army, and the citizens in the countryside, every action they take threatens to have consequences they did not anticipate.
This is a harrowing film about morality and solidarity, and the difference between wanting to live and not wanting to die. At the center of the film is the contrast between Sotnikov, who has accepted the possibility of his death and wants only the comfort of companionship and knowing he did the right thing, and Rybak who is more willing to compromise his loyalties in the name of surviving.
The film makes the most of a bleak, snowy country landscape. In certain sequences it feels as if the characters have died already and are afloat in some kind of purgatory. While the film begins with more thrilling elements--like the encounter with the Germans and Sotnikov and Rybak's attempts to evade the Germans--it later settles into a deeper drama that examines what people are willing to do when presented with almost certain death.
As with many great films about the cost of war, The Ascent keeps the question of "everyday people" always on its radar. There is no such thing as neutrality for the citizens in this situation. When someone arrives in your home unexpectedly, you must either hide them or report them. And each of those acts involves taking a side. Later in the film, the two partisans arrive in the home of a single mother named Demchikha (Lyudmila Polyakova). In her despair and conflict over what to do about her new arrivals, we see a woman who is being pulled apart by both sides of the conflict.
Plotnikov and Gostyukhin make for a great pair as the leads. Plotnikov manages to convey a character who is at once haunted by what may happen to him and yet firm in his own sense of morality. Sotnikov seems to have accepted death in the first ten or fifteen minutes of the film, merely waiting for exactly when and how. Gostyukhin's Rybak is haunted in a different way. We see in him a much more animal desire to live, possibly at any cost. And yet Rybak does clearly have a great affection for his companion. In one sequence, a wounded Sotnikov leans too long against a tree and becomes frozen to it. Rybak must use his breath to warm the space between the man and the tree to free his friend. The two experience a degree of physical and emotional intimacy, making their divergent choices in the last act all the more impactful.
While the film certainly has a very distinct political context, its themes about morality and survival are the kind that can translate to someone who isn't very familiar with this particular historical situation. In fact, the movie frequently leans into being almost more of a religious piece (a character is literally called "Judas" at one point, in case certain parallels weren't clear enough).
I was very interested to read more about the woman who made this film, Larysa Shepitko, and very sorry to hear that she died at a young age in a car accident. Also, she was married to Elem Klimov, who made Come and See. What a talented pair!