Ashes in the Snow

While this is a story that needs to be told, somehow this film does not come together. The lead, Bel Powley, has a wide eyed look that seems to be almost a caricature of innocence. The attraction of the soldier and her mother does not have feeling and he is poorly explained. Some of the problem that the actors had was in the writing. For example nothing in the Bel Powley character showed the leadership as the dying mother declared. She showed innocence, not the clever reading of people that leaders have. Still there were touching moments and a history that should be known.

Greetings again from the darkness. Most World War II films focus on the atrocities committed by Hitler's German forces, but this adaptation of Ruta Sepetys' novel ("Between Shades of Gray") reminds us of the evils under Stalin and the Russian seizure of the Baltic States. Director Marius A Markevicius delivers a feature film debut that is both historical drama and tale of human perseverance.

We have long since been educated on just how cruel humans can and have been to other humans, and director Markevicius - with a script from Ben York Jones (LIKE CRAZY, 2011) - doesn't shy away from the cruelty or atrocities, but he and cinematographer Ramunus Greicius capture the harshness and brutality of the Siberian environment, as well as the brief moments when those being held captive feel sparks of life.

Bel Powley (THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, 2015) stars as Lina, a young Lithuanian artist who lives with her family: mother Elena (Lisa Loven Kongsli, FORCE MAJEUR) and brother Jonas (Tom Sweet). The father/husband is played by Sam Hazeldine and we learn of his secret agenda and activism later in the film. When Russian troops forcibly remove mother and the two kids from their home, a long train ride ends with their working the fields in the Altai Labor Camp in Siberia.

Martin Wallstrom is excellent as Kretzky, a conflicted Russian soldier from the Ukraine. He's kind of persona non-grata on both sides, and as an outsider to the troops and the "devil" to the prisoners, he is somewhat of a sympathetic character. A year later (1942), the family and Officer Kretzky are shipped off to Laptev Sea in the Arctic Circle. This frozen tundra is no place for human beings and death seems preferable to freezing in misery. When giving the relocation order, Kretzky's commanding officer calls them "one big happy family in frozen hell". It's a great line. An acutely descriptive line.

Young Lina's childhood innocence has been shattered, but she possesses an inner strength that only such miserable circumstances could unveil. She carries on finding brief respites in her art and in fleeting romance with fellow prisoner Andrius (Jonah Hauer-King).

There is a story told, a legend really, about a fishing boat and its survivors - the correlation made late in the film. The devastating circumstances and desolate landscape are accompanied aptly by German composer Volker Bertelmann. But let's face it, war crimes against the innocent are tough to watch even in movie form, and this film, regardless of how expertly it's crafted, is relentless in bleakness - though heartfelt and sincere.

It's a good movie about the Soviet invasion of Lithuania; the plot is good and the acting is decent; it is recommended.

It's really important to understand the atrocities and oppression of the Russian government over Eastern Europeans. This film takes place during World War II but even under the Tsar/Czar in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Russia was trying to erase Lithuanian and other conquered cultures with such things as Banning the local language and books.

This film shows us that the Russians were not much better than the Nazis when it came to concentration/labor camps. Without spoilers, it's heartbreaking and horrible what they did to millions of people from the 1930s to the 1950s. I have Lithuanian family who were deported to Siberia and not released for 15 years! Watching this you will understand what they say and so many went through.

For fans of Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, the book from which it was adapted from, it was a disappointment. I have read the book so many times and it never fails to make my heart hurt. When I heard that it would be adapted into a movie, I prepared my heart and a box of tissues for it. I was so excited for it. Sadly, they were not needed. For non readers of the book, they would probably be more accepting of this movie. To the readers and fans, they kinda cheated on by removing parts of the book that were the most heartbreaking, changing certain parts in the story and overall failing to show and evoke emotions like despair, anger, hurt...emotions I certainly felt all throughout the book. There was nothing memorable with the movie. I did not connect with any of the characters. Tbh during some major plot points they decided to keep (although there were changes, most of them big ones), I was thinking this is it, this will be the part which would change my mind about this movie but after seeing it, my reaction was meh, that was it? They really could have done a better job with the screenplay. Will I watch it again? Sorry, hard pass for me. I'd just stick with the book.