From Spring to Summer

This is a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics co-production. This film is set during World War II, and is about a female Russian soldier named Masha. She is on a mission to discover a secret Japanese base in Korea. Everybody who accompanies her on the mission shortly dies, and she’s forced to stay with a local fisherman. She is trying to get the information about the base location back to the Russian army, because if she doesn’t, the Japanese will unleash the “Sakura Plan”, which is an all-out biological warfare assualt on the world.

Directed by Nikita Orlov, San Bok Pak, From Spring to Summer leans on a strong ensemble — Elena Drobysheva, Kim Chkhol, Yuriy Kuznetsov — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1988.