The Ascent

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The Ascent

1977

1h 51m

Drama

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Two Soviet soldiers leave their starving unit to search a nearby farm for supplies. When they see the Germans have reached it first, they have to retreat deep into enemy territory.

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Critics Consensus

Harrowing and bleak yet ultimately uplifting, The Ascent surveys the Russian World War II experience with a clear, compassionate eye.

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Kat Sachs

Chicago Reader

09/04/2024

Ascent shows a very different form of fear, one that is raw and galling.

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Wael Khairy

RogerEbert.com

09/23/2022

Shepitko’s film is less interested in presenting a simplistic anti-war message and aims for something higher, spiritual transcendence.

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Jennifer Dunning

New York Times

03/01/2022

Though familiar, this is a fable re-created with an unabashed sense of grandeur as well as deeply touching humanity.

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CJ Sheu

Review Film Review

01/23/2024

[Director Larissa] Shepitko demanded that every word, action, gesture, and camera movement be internally motivated, and it shows!

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

06/13/2023

...a scarring B&W anti-war drama worthy of comparison to her husband Elem Klimov’s later Come and See...

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

03/02/2023

Shepitko etched her name in cinema glory for this achievement.

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Merick H

@RT59327164 Nov 9

I was very bored by this film and I wasn't, at all, impressed by it visually either. The concept is interesting, but ultimately, this one fell flat for me.

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Kezia N.

@RT46631383 Oct 19

Absolutely 100%. It stays with you.

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Ronnie M

@spuncake Aug 31

Powerful, real and brilliant .......Easily 5 stars or more !

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 11/13/2024

A very chilling Russian WWII film based in Belarus and focusing primarily on the reactions of various characters to capture, interrogation and ultimately to execution. One that will be difficult to shake and works as an excellent psychological and philosophical watch as opposed to an all out action war film. Watched on Amazon Prime.

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Patryk G

@RT71896368 03/07/2023

Masterfully told story through visual metaphors and religious symbolism.

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Michael M

@RT35696549 11/14/2021

A haunting, ethereal film by a director whose career would soon be cut tragically short, The Ascent expertly and poetically examines death and the moral and spiritual confusion caused by living in a world where it was omnipresent.

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Larisa Shepitko

Director

Boris Plotnikov

Sotnikov

Vladimir Gostyukhin

Rybak

Lyudmila Polyakova

Demchikha

Anatoliy Solonitsyn

Portnov

Mariya Vinogradova

Village elder's wife

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Synopsis

Two Soviet soldiers leave their starving unit to search a nearby farm for supplies. When they see the Germans have reached it first, they have to retreat deep into enemy territory.

Director: Larisa Shepitko
Screenwriter: Yuri Klepikov, Larisa Shepitko
Production Co: Tret'e Tvorcheskoe Obedinenie
Genre: Drama, War
Original Language: Russian
Release Date (DVD): Aug 12, 2008
Runtime: 1h 51m