The Ascent

As with Klimov's Come and See this is another powerful account of the Russian peoples' encounter with the Nazis during WWII. The plot is rather simple and it has been used several times in war films. Two Russian partisans - one of them heavily injured - are cut off from their platoon and as they wander through the cold Soviet landscape they find refuge in a hut. Soon though, they are captured by the Nazis and their native collaborators; they are tortured and one of them is executed...

This synopsis of the plot gives very little away. This is so because the film concentrates on the dynamics which keep these two people tied but which are eventually broken under the threat of physical extinction. The struggle for survival set against a hostile physical environment, process of incarceration, interrogation and execution is given through two particularly distinct angles: friendship and patriotism. The analogy with Christ's crucifixion is clearly discernible but it never burdens the film with didactic content. The same applies to the undoubtedly present patriotic element, despite the emotional charge the relevant scenes convey to the viewer. Instead, Shepitko offers a chilling description of what spiritualism is all about, avoiding brilliantly a narrow interpretation of the heroic act, but rather pointing to the force which causes the spirit to rise over the flesh. Additionally, the traumatic impact of the war for the future generations is felt towards the end of the film, in the extremely moving scene of the execution.

Shepitko was married to another dominant figure of Soviet cinema, Elim Klimov, and died shortly before the completion of the latter's film Farewell which she was supposed to direct. It is thus not suprising that The Ascent reveals so many affinities with Come and See. Both films represent authentic testimonies of the Soviet experience, and both contribute in the most profound way to the utilization of this past experience for the avoidance of similar atrocities.

Review by Spiros Gangas
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94