The Ascent

If you liked this

Come and See1985

Elem Klimov's masterpiece of war's dehumanizing horror. Like The Ascent, it strips away heroism to show ordinary men confronting impossible choices and spiritual devastation in Soviet territory during WWII.

But Relentlessly bleak and graphic. The final image will haunt you in ways that may feel punitive rather than cathartic.

Stalker1979

Tarkovsky's philosophical slow-burn about a guide leading two men through a mysterious zone. Same meditative pace, same faith in visual poetry over exposition, same willingness to let viewers sit with big questions about meaning and desire.

But Runs 163 minutes with minimal dialogue. If you want narrative propulsion, this will feel like watching paint dry in a very cold room.

Ran1985

Kurosawa's apocalyptic retelling of King Lear across a fragmenting medieval Japan. Shares The Ascent's unflinching portrayal of moral collapse, human cruelty as destiny, and the indifference of nature to human suffering.

But Visually overwhelming and structurally complex. Three hours of beautiful devastation can leave you emotionally wrung out.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Ascent

Cast

• 
  Boris PlotnikovSotnikov
• 
  Vladimir GostyukhinRybak
• 
  Anatoliy SolonitsynPortnov, Collaborationist Interrogator
• 
  Lyudmila PolyakovaAvginya Demchikha, the Mother
• 
  Viktoriya GoldentulBasya Meyer, the Girl
• 
  Sergei YakovlevPetr Sych, Village Elder
• 
  Mariya VinogradovaVillage Elder's Wife
• 
  Mykola SektymenkoStas Gomenyuk, Collaborationist Policeman
• 
  Leonid YukhinPartisan Commander
• A
  Aleksandr ZvenigorskiyGerman Officer
• 
  Vladimir RudyyGerman Officer with Black Glasses
• A
  Anatoli ChebotaryovGerman Officer with Glasses

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