Bitter Harvest (2017)

Set in 1930s Ukraine, as Stalin advances the ambitions of communists in the Kremlin, young artist Yuri battles to save his lover Natalka from the Holodomor, the death-by-starvation program that ultimately killed millions of Ukrainians.

Director:

George Mendeluk

Writers:

Richard Bachynsky Hoover (screenplay), George Mendeluk (screenplay)

Stars:

Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Terence Stamp

7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Max Irons	...	Yuri
Barry Pepper	...	Yaroslav
Terence Stamp	...	Ivan
Richard Brake	...	Medved
Aneurin Barnard	...	Mykola
Samantha Barks	...	Natalka
Lucy Brown	...	Olena
Tom Austen	...	Taras
Tamer Hassan	...	Sergei
Edward Akrout	...	Professor Temchuck
Nicholas Aaron	...	Walter Duranty
William Beck	...	Stefan
Gary Oliver	...	Stalin
Richard Ashton	...	Father Ostapovich
Jack Hollington	...	Lubko

Storyline

Set between the two World Wars and based on true historical events, BITTER HARVEST conveys the untold story of the Holodomor, the genocidal famine engineered by the tyrant Joseph Stalin. The film displays a powerful tale of love, honour, rebellion and survival at a time when Ukraine was forced to adjust to the horrifying territorial ambitions of the burgeoning Soviet Union. With an exceptional cast of established and rising stars, the film epically recreates one of the most dramatic and dangerous episodes in the history of 20th Century Europe.

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Plot Keywords:

ukraine | famine | stalin | holodomor | genocide | 

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Taglines:

An epic film based on historical facts.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Website

Country:

Canada

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

23 February 2017 (Ukraine)

Also Known As:

Devil's Harvest

Filming Locations:

Kyiv, Ukraine

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$219,357, 26 February 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$557,004, 31 March 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Devil's Harvest Production,Tell Me A Storey

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Max Irons and Aneurrin Barnard played brothers Edward IV and Richard III, respectively in The White Queen (2013)

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Quotes

[First lines]
Yuri: [Voice over] Across the ages it has been called many things: the border lands, the wild fields, the bread basket of Europe. But since I was a boy, Ukraine was simply home. Even as we dreamed of freedom from the Russian tsar, life went on as it always had, moving to the rhythm of the seasons, waxing and waning in the eternal cycle of seeding and ploughing and reaping. A life of hard work and small pleasures.

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Soundtracks

Misyats na Nebi
Traditional song, Performed by Samantha Barks
Courtesy of Andamar Entertainment Inc.

User Reviews

Stalin- not Hitler for a welcome change

The Communists starved the Ukrainians under Stalin. The New York Times via Walter Duranty, covered up their crimes. Bitter Harvest is a fictional action- drama based on one man's story that lived through it. Now, finally a movie that is not about Hitler (national socialism) but about the real threat America faces from the left- International socialism ( communism) - still being covered up by the same lying media. Walter Duranty is best known for his stringent denial of the genocide of the Ukrainian people, known as Holodomor. Duranty refused to report on the man-made famine that killed up to twelve million people. Duranty also claimed other journalists who reported the truth of the USSR, such as Malcolm Muggeridge and Gareth Jones, were liars. Muggeridge went on to call Duranty "the greatest liar I have met in journalism." Some of Duranty's most well known lies and falsehoods about Holodomor are: "There is no famine or actual starvation nor is there likely to be." --New York Times, Nov. 15, 1931, page 1 "Any report of a famine in Russia is today an exaggeration or malignant propaganda." --New York Times, August 23, 1933 "Enemies and foreign critics can say what they please. Weaklings and despondents at home may groan under the burden, but the youth and strength of the Russian people is essentially at one with the Kremlin's program, believes it worthwhile and supports it, however hard be the sledding." --New York Times, December 9, 1932, page 6 "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs." --New York Times, May 14, 1933, page 18 "There is no actual starvation or deaths from starvation but there is widespread mortality from diseases due to malnutrition." --New York Times, March 31, 1933, page 13 Duranty also admitted privately that the genocide was happening. Bruce S. Thornton wrote: Walter Duranty stands as perhaps the quintessential fellow-traveler, killing news reports of famine and writing that Ukrainians were "healthier and more cheerful" than he had expected, and that markets were overflowing with food—this at the height of Stalin's slaughter of the kulaks.