143: The Ascent (a.k.a. Voskhozhdenie)

I didn’t intend for three of my most recent views to be of Soviet era Russian films.  It simply worked out that way in my Netflix cue.  That being said, I think this is a trend I’ll try to avoid in the future.  It’s not that Larisa Shepitko’s The Ascent (1976) is a bad film, but it is infused with the same emotional distance that I mentioned in my review of Dersu Uzala (1974; # 144).  These two films are also similar in theme and narrative, and thus I feel that I’ll be a bit hard on the former in this piece. 

            Set amidst the backdrop of the German invasion, The Ascent begins focused on a meager group of partisans fleeing from Blitzkrieg pursuers.  Two of the soldiers break away from the group to scout and possibly scrounge rations, but find themselves in a skirmish with a German patrol.  When one of them is injured they are forced to hideout in the attic of a village woman who is struggling to make ends meet with her three children.  They are quickly captured and taken, along with the woman, to a makeshift prison camp.

            As they await their fate and endure the torturous interrogations of the camp’s sadistic commandant the film begins to dwell in the philosophical questions posed by loyalty in war.  Story-wise this film is basically split in two; with the chase by the Nazi troops encompassing the first half of the film, and the imprisonment in the camp occupying the whole of the second.  Both of these halves include moments of heightened emotion and tension between the characters, but because the audience is given so little introduction to them it becomes difficult to empathize with their plight in these moments.  Ultimately, on the narrative front the film fails for this reason, but it does do a proficient job of displaying the brutality of the Nazi war machine against both soldiers and civilians of the Soviet Union.

            Aesthetically, the movie has much more to offer.  Shallow focus seems the right choice here, as none of the characters are given much depth, and the use of B&W photography strikes the right chord.  However, where some shots seem meticulous in their construction, others feel bland and unimaginative, and this visual juxtaposition is almost never a positive choice for a filmmaker, as the occasional good shots tend to highlight the rash of bad ones.  Likewise, I was put off by the titles supered over the opening sequence.  They were distracting and shielded some of what would have been the film’s finest visuals.

            All in all I can’t say that I hated this movie, but I can’t say much about it that is positive either.  I understand it’s placement on the list, but only recommend it to be viewed when it’s been a while since your last dose of Soviet cinema.

Grade: 1.5 Hats Off      

Note: I’m publishing this post in the early minutes of my 25^th birthday.  I have two years to finish 142 films, but I’m about to hit a wall with Netflix.  Any suggestions for free/cheap (and legal) viewing of some of the list’s more obscure titles would be appreciated.  I might be publishing a list of my remaining films for potential help in finding them.  My thanks to all.