The Ascent

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Ronnie M Powerful, real and brilliant .......Easily 5 stars or more ! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/31/25 Full Review Leaburn O 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. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/13/24 Full Review Peter F True masterpiece. Felt this film deeply. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/01/23 Full Review Patryk G Masterfully told story through visual metaphors and religious symbolism. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/07/23 Full Review Michael M 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. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/14/21 Full Review William L Do you remember when The Revenant came out and critics showered adoration upon Leonardo di Caprio because of the extremes that he went through, mistaking an actor's suffering for insightful cinema? The Ascent is like that, except the film attached to it is also very good. Shot on location in a brutal winter hellscape, The Ascent is both the last film and the masterpiece of Soviet director Larisa Shepitko; a biting depiction of the soul-searching and the crisis of identity caused by war. Feeling the pain of hunger, cold, and battle, every character is haunted by the perpetual cloud of death, and as it gets closer they begin to act in radically different ways - some compromise early and throw their full weight into collaboration, some beg mercy, some are stallwart holdouts, and others attempt to toe the line between compromise and honor. Infusing subversive religious themes, the film's chief contrast is between Plotnikov's Sotnikov (Christ-like and self-sacrificing) and Gostyukhin's Rybak, introduced as rugged and world-wise before ultimately descending into a betrayer (literally called 'Judas' by a bystander). However, in Shepitko's winter wasteland, Rybak isn't even granted the mercy of suicide, and instead the film ends with him a devastated shell cursed to live with his decision; leave your romanticized interpretations at home, we're opting for brutality here. Nearly banned by the Soviet authorities due to its symbolism (and likely would have been, if not for its candid depiction of the Eastern Front of World War II), The Ascent is a tough war film to get through, but timeless in its bleak interpretation of the emotional toll of war. (4.5/5) Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/17/21 Full Review Read all reviews

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