1945, Russia. Young mother Anastasia (a fine performance by Georgina Haig) gets sent to a brutal Soviet gulag in the wake of killing her abusive war hero husband.
Director Simon Fink relates the grimly gripping story at a constant pace, maintains a harsh gritty tone throughout, and astutely captures the bleak and oppressive world of the gulag. Arthur M. Jolly's hard-hitting script spells out in no uncertain terms the savage extreme lengths people will resort to in the name of survival.
The strong cast definitely rise to the challenge of the sinewy material, with especially stand-out work from Jolene Anderson as ruthless top con Masha, Katharine Isabelle as the sickly, but angry Lubov, Vera Cherny as the mousy Prushka, and Asa Wallander as the kindly Svetlana. A potent and impressive little film.
Director Simon Fink relates the grimly gripping story at a constant pace, maintains a harsh gritty tone throughout, and astutely captures the bleak and oppressive world of the gulag. Arthur M. Jolly's hard-hitting script spells out in no uncertain terms the savage extreme lengths people will resort to in the name of survival.
The strong cast definitely rise to the challenge of the sinewy material, with especially stand-out work from Jolene Anderson as ruthless top con Masha, Katharine Isabelle as the sickly, but angry Lubov, Vera Cherny as the mousy Prushka, and Asa Wallander as the kindly Svetlana. A potent and impressive little film.