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The Ascent

Original title: Voskhozhdenie
1977 · 1 h 51 min
Directed by Larisa Shepitko
DramaWar

Cast

Boris Plotnikov Vladimir Gostyukhin Sergei Yakovlev

Credits

Written by: Vasiliy Bykov

Plot

In the winter of 1942, in occupied Belarus, two Soviet partisans go in search of food, and are captured by the Nazis. Under interrogation and torture, one of them, Sotnikov, remains defiant while the other, Rybak, is tempted to betray. Larisa Shepitko's 1977 film, set in a harsh snowy landscape, treats the story with Christian symbolism and moral intensity, and won the Golden Bear in Berlin.

Sinekatalog’s take

Larisa Shepitko's harrowing wartime drama follows two partisans in the Belarusian snow. Spiritual, stark and unforgettable, it is a devastating study of faith and betrayal that won the Golden Bear.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 8.2 / 10 (12,719 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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