Overview
Two partisans struggle against the elements and their own minds in a war-torn landscape.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- bleak
- austere
- harrowing
- serious film night
- arthouse viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Larisa Shepitko's severe, visually striking partisan drama as a powerful and deeply moving meditation on moral courage and sacrifice.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Sotnikov's ordeal turns partisan resistance into an agonizing test of conscience, faith, and self-sacrifice.
The snowbound landscape repeatedly constrains the partisans and intensifies their flight, capture, and imprisonment.
Portnov's interrogation and the choices facing captured villagers expose the ethical damage of occupation.
The recurring frozen wilderness, telegraph poles, prison spaces, and scenes of public punishment create a severe, icon-like visual grammar.
Films like The Ascent, and why
Ivan's Childhood
morally serious wartime drama centered on sacrifice, resistance, and spiritual endurance under occupation
Come and See
austere Soviet war drama using stark landscapes and ethical pressure to explore human resilience
Army of Shadows
psychologically intense resistance drama about compromised choices, torture, and moral courage during wartime
Movie Details
- Director
- Larisa Shepitko
- Release Date
- 1977-04-02
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (258)
Cast
- Boris Plotnikov
- Vladimir Gostyukhin
- Anatoliy Solonitsyn
- Lyudmila Polyakova
- Viktoriya Goldentul
- Sergei Yakovlev
- Mariya Vinogradova
- Mykola Sektymenko
- Leonid Yukhin
- Aleksandr Zvenigorskiy
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Ascent about?
- Two Soviet partisans trapped behind enemy lines confront starvation, capture, and the cost of preserving their humanity.
- What is The Ascent like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Ascent as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Ascent violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Ascent as brutal.
- What did critics think of The Ascent?
- Critics broadly regard Larisa Shepitko's severe, visually striking partisan drama as a powerful and deeply moving meditation on moral courage and sacrifice.
- Which films are like The Ascent?
- Films with a similar feel include Ivan's Childhood, Come and See, and Army of Shadows.
- How long is The Ascent?
- The Ascent runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Ascent?
- In United States, The Ascent streams on Criterion Channel.
