The Ascent

Ratings & Reviews

Joel Shelton

A mesmerizing, intense, and physically driven piece of war cinema with an atmospheric soundtrack just as harsh as the unrelenting landscape the characters suffer through. People often compare this film to the work of Tarkovsky, while there are similarities, I would say it's more of a precursor to the work of Béla Tarr with how Shepitko utilizes a more contemplative approach to capture austere and bleak imagery.

Jugu Abraham

An important film. But pales in comparison to the parallel Hungarian masterpiece: Zoltan Fabri's "The Fifth Seal" (1976). I suspect director Shepitko had seen that film, as it had won top honours at the Moscow film festival a year before she made this film.

Wee Hunk

A very seductive film. Hero porn works this way. Let us NOT praise heroes and martyrs. "[We] perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices." "We shall never end wars by blaming it on ministers and generals or warmongering imperialists. It's the rest of us who build statues to those generals, and name boulevards after those ministers. The rest of us who make heroes of our dead and shrines of our battlefields."

pomegranate

Sotnikov's like prince Myshkin from 'Idiot'. and music by A. Schnittke is brilliant.

ShawnD

Movies like The Ascent are why I subscribe to Mubi and Filmstruck. I'd never heard of the film, the director or any of the actors. But, I couldn't take my eyes off this movie. It's both searing and sublime, beautiful and ugly. In short, a rare cinematic accomplishment.

pirri

4,5

Ahmed Abdel Wahhab Hussien

After a very compelling start, the film spent a full hour begging for empathy. Great acting only by Boris Plotnikov (the one who looks like Simon Pegg)

Joel

Starting slow and seemingly straight-forward the final act moves into an atmospheric depth that lingers. The soundtrack echoes the cinematography. A difficult and beautiful journey into darkness.

HSBilly

haunting, very very haunting.

Dignan

Good piece on cowardice.

Jake.Durston

"So then, to the grave - to feed the worms. Right?"

Halil Küçükyıldız

One of the most five qualified film i've ever seen. Like a hidden treasure. Most important aspect of this film is being filmed by a woman director. The film reflects the feeling about the human, death and war. Those who love cinema art must watch this magnificent film.

saitosouta

Power of his eyes. Just excellent.

ASHES IN THE HOURGLASS

How much more pretentious and kitsch can you get than a retelling of Jesus Christ set in WW2 where the Nazis swap the Romans? If this was made in Hollywood, it would have been laughed at, but because it's made in Mother Russia and sort of resembles a Tarkovky film, its been hailed as great. Seriously, people need to get over the so-called Russian Soul bullshit. The performances and small moments redeem it slightly.

DSPRKY

For some reason, I thought this was a film about airplanes. How wrong I was.

Șean cel Mare

One of the greatest war films ever made that deals with the senseless and directionless brutality of war, arbitrary accusation and punishment, stoicism and self-sacrifice in the face of death, martyrdom, selfishness, and so much more. Parallels to Dostoyevski's Alyosha, Christ's death march to Golgotha, and Judas's onset of madness due to guilt, are all fascinatingly portrayed. This film deserves several viewings.

ihor

Deeply harrowing. A bit slow to develop, but the eventual climax provides a deep personal exploration of what it is to be a human being. Words are hardly necessary as Sheptiko just allows the camera sharply focused on one individual to explain everything. Klimov's Come and See perhaps takes a grander approach at the societal destruction caused by the war, but Sheptiko explores individual destruction.

noice

wow

Ramona Arsene

This is a film about eyes in the face of death.

Mr. Dude_o_o

I even forgot to breathe!

AdrianM.

I was going to give it 4 stars but DAMN the ending was superb!

Minu

I can only be grateful that I still have the chance to see such masterpieces. Very rarely a film hits its target, but this one unmistakably hits bull's eye. Through this film, one can, at the same time, live in a heroic state, martyrdom like, or the so called "life" of a traitor, who's unable either to live or die properly. A total masterpiece.

Rahul

A bleak, harrowing and criminally underrated masterpiece up there with the best of Tarkovsky, Bergman and Bresson in its exploration of the depths of the human soul.

Michael Harbour

Two soldiers go in search of food. Much transpires and character is revealed. Gorgeous, evocative cinematography. About the only flaw is a too prolonged and excessively melodramatic ending.