The Ascent is the fourth and final feature of Soviet director Larisa Shepitko, who tragically died in a car accident at the age of 40, two years after the film's release in 1977. In many quarters, the film is hailed as a masterpiece. Given the simplicity of the story, I would be hesitant to place it in that category but it is nonetheless an impressive piece of filmmaking, with its austere black and white cinematography and great acting by all the principals concerned.
The film is set during World War II in Belarus, one of the Soviet republics which was subject to the Nazi occupation. The protagonists are two partisans, Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) who belong to a battalion consisting of both soldiers and civilians that come under fire by Germans and forced to flee into the forest in the dead of winter (the snow impacts the landscape throughout the entire narrative).
Sotnikov and Rybak are ordered to find food as the battalion has run out of supplies and both troops and civilians are on the verge of starvation. The two soldiers first discover a farm they were looking for has been burnt down by the Germans and the inhabitants presumably killed. They find a house inhabited by a "headman" and his wife and conclude he's a German collaborator as he still has foodstuffs and a roof over his head. Sotnikov and Rybak take a farm animal for food but decide not to execute the headman.
During an encounter with Germans, Sotnikov is shot in the leg and is severely injured. Sotnikov is on the verge of killing himself with his own shotgun but Rybak heroically drags him to another cottage, where they find a woman, Demchikha, and her three children.
The action turns tragic when the Germans find the two partisans who are hiding in Demchikha's attic and arrest them along with the innocent woman and bring them in for questioning. The film ably highlights the Nazi's cruelty as they arrest Demchikha and ultimately find her guilty of being a partisan along with the two men (the children are cruelly left to fend for themselves in spite of the mother's heartrending pleas).
Back at German Headquarters, Sotnikov and Rybak are interrogated by Portnov, a member of the Belarusian Auxiliary Police, another German collaborator. The film again ably notes that a good deal of the dirty work was done by locals allied with the Germans. Sotnikov ends up being tortured by Portnov and local collaborationist soldiers (a hot iron is applied to his chest) but he refuses to provide any information in regards to his batallion's position. Rybak, in contrast, tells Portnov everything he knows and is offered a chance to join the auxillary police.
Meanwhile, the Headman has been accused by the Germans as being a partisan and he, along with Basya Meyer, the teen daughter of a Jewish shoemaker, end up imprisoned along with Sotnikov, Rybak and Demchikha.
The film's denouement is clearly a mixed bag. Much is made of the contrast between Sotnikov, a Christ-like figure and Rybak, who is called a "Judas" to his face by a townsperson after accepting Portnov's offer to collaborate and acquiescing--watching while his comrades are executed. The reactions of the two are drawn out for maximum melodramatic effect, with Sotnikov bathed in a saintly aura as he goes to the gallows and Rybak, practically tearing his hair out with guilt over his decision to collaborate.
Despite all the histrionics, Portnov and the Germans are depicted quite realistically, reacting to the entire scene as "business as usual," and confirming the old dictum of the "banality of evil." Demchikha's cries for mercy, in particular, are quite upsetting as they fall on the deaf ears of the monsters who callously ignore her pleas (her appeal is based on the face that she is the mother of three small children).
The Ascent feels more like a parable than a story based on a completely real incident. The characters aren't completely fleshed out as real people but the emotions here ring true. The religious symbolism may be a bit overwrought with the contrast between courage and betrayal but the story still provides an unflinching glimpse at the power of evil men and the inability of innocents to escape their deadly clutches.
The film is set during World War II in Belarus, one of the Soviet republics which was subject to the Nazi occupation. The protagonists are two partisans, Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) who belong to a battalion consisting of both soldiers and civilians that come under fire by Germans and forced to flee into the forest in the dead of winter (the snow impacts the landscape throughout the entire narrative).
Sotnikov and Rybak are ordered to find food as the battalion has run out of supplies and both troops and civilians are on the verge of starvation. The two soldiers first discover a farm they were looking for has been burnt down by the Germans and the inhabitants presumably killed. They find a house inhabited by a "headman" and his wife and conclude he's a German collaborator as he still has foodstuffs and a roof over his head. Sotnikov and Rybak take a farm animal for food but decide not to execute the headman.
During an encounter with Germans, Sotnikov is shot in the leg and is severely injured. Sotnikov is on the verge of killing himself with his own shotgun but Rybak heroically drags him to another cottage, where they find a woman, Demchikha, and her three children.
The action turns tragic when the Germans find the two partisans who are hiding in Demchikha's attic and arrest them along with the innocent woman and bring them in for questioning. The film ably highlights the Nazi's cruelty as they arrest Demchikha and ultimately find her guilty of being a partisan along with the two men (the children are cruelly left to fend for themselves in spite of the mother's heartrending pleas).
Back at German Headquarters, Sotnikov and Rybak are interrogated by Portnov, a member of the Belarusian Auxiliary Police, another German collaborator. The film again ably notes that a good deal of the dirty work was done by locals allied with the Germans. Sotnikov ends up being tortured by Portnov and local collaborationist soldiers (a hot iron is applied to his chest) but he refuses to provide any information in regards to his batallion's position. Rybak, in contrast, tells Portnov everything he knows and is offered a chance to join the auxillary police.
Meanwhile, the Headman has been accused by the Germans as being a partisan and he, along with Basya Meyer, the teen daughter of a Jewish shoemaker, end up imprisoned along with Sotnikov, Rybak and Demchikha.
The film's denouement is clearly a mixed bag. Much is made of the contrast between Sotnikov, a Christ-like figure and Rybak, who is called a "Judas" to his face by a townsperson after accepting Portnov's offer to collaborate and acquiescing--watching while his comrades are executed. The reactions of the two are drawn out for maximum melodramatic effect, with Sotnikov bathed in a saintly aura as he goes to the gallows and Rybak, practically tearing his hair out with guilt over his decision to collaborate.
Despite all the histrionics, Portnov and the Germans are depicted quite realistically, reacting to the entire scene as "business as usual," and confirming the old dictum of the "banality of evil." Demchikha's cries for mercy, in particular, are quite upsetting as they fall on the deaf ears of the monsters who callously ignore her pleas (her appeal is based on the face that she is the mother of three small children).
The Ascent feels more like a parable than a story based on a completely real incident. The characters aren't completely fleshed out as real people but the emotions here ring true. The religious symbolism may be a bit overwrought with the contrast between courage and betrayal but the story still provides an unflinching glimpse at the power of evil men and the inability of innocents to escape their deadly clutches.