Larisa Shepitko's final completed film is one of the most intense movies that I've ever seen. "Voskhozhdenie" ("The Ascent" in English) looks at a pair of Soviet troops who take refuge in a widow's home during WWII, only to see a German platoon enter and arrest them and the widow (leaving the children).
I understand that the movie's depiction of martyrdom owes a lot to Christian iconography. I wouldn't notice that. What's important to remember is that the Soviet Union got hit the hardest in World War II. Not only did the country lose over 20 million people fighting the Nazis, but we have here a woman who probably wanted to have nothing to do with the war but she got dragged into it. This probably happened multiple times, and might still be happening.
I wholeheartedly recommend the movie.
I understand that the movie's depiction of martyrdom owes a lot to Christian iconography. I wouldn't notice that. What's important to remember is that the Soviet Union got hit the hardest in World War II. Not only did the country lose over 20 million people fighting the Nazis, but we have here a woman who probably wanted to have nothing to do with the war but she got dragged into it. This probably happened multiple times, and might still be happening.
I wholeheartedly recommend the movie.