Ashes in the Snow (2018)

In 1941, a 16 year-old aspiring artist and her family are deported to Siberia amidst Stalin's brutal dismantling of the Baltic region. One girl's passion for art and her never-ending hope will break the silence of history.

Director:

Marius A. Markevicius

Writers:

Ben York Jones (screenplay by), Ben York Jones

Stars:

Bel Powley, Peter Franzén, Jonah Hauer-King

Cast

Credited cast:
Bel Powley	...	Lina
Peter Franzén	...	Commander Komarov
Jonah Hauer-King	...	Andrius Aras
Sophie Cookson	...	Ona
James Cosmo	...	Mr. Stakas
Martin Wallström	...	Nikolai Kretzsky
Lisa Loven Kongsli	...	Elena
Timothy Innes	...	Nojus
Adrian Schiller	...	The Man Who Winds His Watch
Sam Hazeldine	...	Kostas Vilkas
Nadja Bobyleva	...	Marija
Ieva Andrejevaite
Dolya Gavanski	...	Mrs. Aras
Tom Sweet	...	Jonas Vilkas
Aiste Dirziute	...	Joana

Storyline

In 1941, a 16 year-old aspiring artist and her family are deported to Siberia amidst Stalin's brutal dismantling of the Baltic region. One girl's passion for art and her never-ending hope will break the silence of history.

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Taglines:

Inspired by True Events.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

Lithuania USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2018 (Lithuania)

Also Known As:

Ashes in the Snow

Filming Locations:

Lithuania

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sorrento Productions, Tauras Films, Twilight Merengue Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed from January to April 2016, but not released in the United States until its limited release in January 2019.

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Goofs

In one shot of the train, modern locomotive (probably TEM-TMH) is visible.

User Reviews

A stunning story untold.

Ashes in the Snow is absolutely beautiful. It unveils a forgotten part of history in a way that makes you experience the despair and horrid living conditions of the Soviet labor camps. Ashes drags a viewer through parts of cruelty, death, family drama, humiliation, romance and betrayal. And that's just a portion of what the prisoners had to go through. The cinematography is excellent and conveys gray and often woeful reality of prison camps. Landscape shots are deep, crisp and draw a gloomy view of Siberia, even though the movie is not shot there. Bel Powley gives a striking performance as Lina, though she looks a bit confused and sluggish in the beginning, her emotions and courage later are rather convincing. Kudos to Martin Wallström, who incarnated the most controversial and diverse character in the movie - Kretzsky. At some point you want to feel bad for him even if your conscience doesn't allow it. Soundtrack brought by Volker Bertelmann-Hauschka is very tense and peaks when Lina draws Komarov. In short, Ashes in the Snow is one of the greatest movies about the Soviet side of WW2 and its crimes, which sadly people are still unaware of. A must-see.