The 1977 Russian film The Ascent opens with some remarkable snowy weather images, provided by female director Larisa Shepitko, before advancing its war story. A while later, there is a stunning scene wherein one soldier, Rybak, crawls and pushes along in the snow another soldier, the wounded Sotnikov, until the latter begins to resemble a veritable snowman. Shepitko, who died in 1979 at age 41, was a gifted cinematic artist. With Yuri Klepikov she wrote the movie’s script and filmed it wisely and resoundingly. Through medium-long shots, she shows from behind a group of individuals plodding up a hill in cold, dry weather before they espy five hanging nooses: German soldiers intend to execute Russians.

The Ascent‘s themes include sacrifice, Christ-like, on the one hand, diminishment on the other. Indeed, Sotnikov is a Christ who is not a Christ while Rybak is a Judas who is not a Judas. Another theme is a mother’s anguish when death looms, for the mother. It is a grave achievement that really works on the emotions, one of the notable artistic movies of the Seventies.

(In Russian with English subtitles)