Chapter 5
Icons, Landscape and the Boundaries of Good and Evil: Larisa Shepitko’s The Ascent (1977)
Jane Costlow
Some of the finest Russian films of the Soviet era focused on World War II. In the four and a half decades during which they were made, these films ranged from glorifications of Soviet heroism, to psychological studies of traumatized veterans, to explorations of the moral and emotional dilemmas of what Americans might call the ‘home front.’ The boundary between war zone and home front was never as clear in the Soviet Union, where Nazi forces occupied vast stretches of land, effectively pushing the Soviet borders to a line that ran just west of Moscow. Larisa Shepitko’s The Ascent (Восхождение), released in 1977, takes place in this vulnerable and dangerous terrain, somewhere in Nazi-occupied Belarus. A violently contested borderland, this is a landscape of life-and-death choices, in which characters must make extraordinarily difficult decisions under torture and threat of death. Shepitko’s camera emphasizes the brutality of winter and the danger of the landscape itself, but also focuses with penetrating compassion on her characters’ faces, caught in moments of communion, epiphany, and torment. Landscape and faces are the visual medium of the film’s ethical and psychological drama; understanding how Shepitko crafted this profoundly unsettling narrative about the boundary between good and evil, choice and necessity, form the focus of this chapter.
Films discussed in Chapter 5:
The Ascent (Восхождение). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. USSR, 1976.
Ballad of a Soldier (Баллада о солдате). Directed by Grigorii Chukhrai. USSR, 1959.
Clear Skies (Чистое небо). Directed by Grigorii Chukhrai. USSR, 1961.
Come and See (Иди и смотри). Directed by Elem Klimov. USSR, 1985.
The Cranes are Flying (Летят журавли). Directed by Mikhail Kalotozov. USSR, 1957.
Earth (Земля). Directed by Alexander Dovzhenko. USSR, 1930.
The Fate of a Man (Судьба человека). Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. USSR, 1959.
Heat (Зной). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. USSR, 1963.
Ivan’s Childhood (Иваново детство). Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. USSR, 1962.
Motherland of Electricity (Родина электричества). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. Part of triptych Beginning of an Unknown Century (Начало неведомого века) USSR, 1967.
Wings (Крылья). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. USSR, 1966.
Films discussed in Chapter 5:
The Ascent (Восхождение). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. USSR, 1976.
Ballad of a Soldier (Баллада о солдате). Directed by Grigorii Chukhrai. USSR, 1959.
Clear Skies (Чистое небо). Directed by Grigorii Chukhrai. USSR, 1961.
Come and See (Иди и смотри). Directed by Elem Klimov. USSR, 1985.
The Cranes are Flying (Летят журавли). Directed by Mikhail Kalotozov. USSR, 1957.
Earth (Земля). Directed by Alexander Dovzhenko. USSR, 1930.
The Fate of a Man (Судьба человека). Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. USSR, 1959.
Heat (Зной). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. USSR, 1963.
Ivan’s Childhood (Иваново детство). Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. USSR, 1962.
Motherland of Electricity (Родина электричества). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. Part of triptych Beginning of an Unknown Century (Начало неведомого века) USSR, 1967.
Wings (Крылья). Directed by Larisa Shepitko. USSR, 1966.
A scene from the film The Ascent (Source: YouTube)
About the author:
Jane Costlow is a Professor of Environmental Studies at Bates College, with a background in the study of Russian literature and culture. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University. She is the author of Heart-Pine Russia: Walking and Writing the 19th century Forest (2012). She has also co-edited a volume of essays on Other Animals: Beyond the Human in Russian Culture and History (with Amy Nelson, 2010), and has written extensively on Russian women writers. She has a special affection for the art of translation – where scholarly training joins the love of language to create bridges between multiple worlds.
Jane Costlow's webpage
Jane Costlow is a Professor of Environmental Studies at Bates College, with a background in the study of Russian literature and culture. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University. She is the author of Heart-Pine Russia: Walking and Writing the 19th century Forest (2012). She has also co-edited a volume of essays on Other Animals: Beyond the Human in Russian Culture and History (with Amy Nelson, 2010), and has written extensively on Russian women writers. She has a special affection for the art of translation – where scholarly training joins the love of language to create bridges between multiple worlds.
Jane Costlow's webpage