Who is Larisa Shepitko? Most of us haven't heard about her. She is quite an overshadowed director compared to Tarkovsky and her partner Elem Klimov. She died young in a car accident while pre-producing the film Klimov had to finish for her. The Ascent was her last film. Such a shame.
The most outstanding thing about this film is the sensitivity with which it's filmed. It's a war film, soviet partisans are fighting the nazis in Belarus, but as most good war film it's about something. This film has two parts, one more introspective and with a strong nature presence. The second one more cruel. It's about ideals and ... even spirituality. It raises more questions than it gives answers. Is a cause more important than life? How cruel can humans be? How can someone live with guilt?
It's nicely shot in black and white, nicely, not stunning, but still very well shot. The landscape looks large, powerful, violent. I wasn't a fan of the use of close shots (and zooms?!) but in this case it's forgiven, it serves a purpose.
The use of sound is impressive. Technically it isn't amazing but how they use it wisely is amazing. Replacing torture noises by the sounds of torture isn't just a great resource but also an ethical one. It causes a lot more of an impact this way too, as it's not what you expect.. and the torture noises are created in your head. For this, Russia can claim to have created great filmmakers. It's not about a big budget as much as it is about a big emphasis in creativity in storytelling.
The actors... are ok. I'm not sure about the type of acting - overdramatic? - but they do fit in the drama. The women are a lot more natural than the men. It's still about what happen to people in conflicts rather than about the conflicts.
Voskhozhdeniye
Larisa ShepitkoElem Klimov, her partner made a short film about her (found in very poor quality): Larisa (1980)
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