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Directed by Larisa Shepitko, The Ascent leans on a strong ensemble — Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Anatoliy Solonitsyn — 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 1977.
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The remarkable true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding and being hunted in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, based on Maxwell Smart's memoir.
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