Teenage Artist’s Shocking Journey to Siberia! Her Art Holds the Key to Survival!
Hello, Musitrature Recaps here. Today, we’re explaining the movie “Ashes in the Snow.” The story revolves around a family surviving the cruelty of the Soviet government and its special services in Lithuania, 1941. Meet Lina Vilkas, a 16-year-old girl with a passion for drawing and dreams of attending Art School. She enjoys her adolescence with summer holidays spent swimming in the lake and going on first dates with boys. After painting a new picture and attending preparation classes, Lina and her younger brother Jonas head home. Their father, Kostas Vilkas, arrives with exciting news about new canvases and paints. While Lina worries about not getting into art school, her father believes in her abilities.
During lunch, Kostas discovers that Jonas has someone else’s soccer ball and learns about his classmate’s family problems. His father got arrested, and the boy predicts tough times ahead for Lithuania. Though offended, Kostas redirects the children’s focus, sharing a valuable lesson – it’s all about perspective. He believes that things can be both terrible and beautiful, depending on how you look at them. Taking the right side matters.
Kostas is clear about his identity and calling. As a university teacher, he’s actively involved in the Lithuanian resistance against the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. Every night, he works tirelessly, forging documents and aiding people to flee the country and escape the grasp of the Stalinist regime.
Elena pleads with her husband to prioritize their family, but Kostas can’t turn a blind eye to the crumbling world beyond their home. He feels destined to do everything in his power to help others. The next morning, Lina witnesses the Soviet military arresting a man in the middle of the street and taking him away. This terrifying sight leaves her frozen in place, but the soldiers insist she goes home immediately or risk the same fate as the passerby.
Later, Lina receives a letter from the art school, and she decides to wait for her father to share the news with him, be it joyful or sad. In the evening, she spots trucks with officials from the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, arresting people listed as traitors with anti-Soviet beliefs. The Vilkas family finds themselves on that list, and Elena knows the danger they are in. She quickly gathers their belongings and tells Lina to do the same as they may be arrested at any moment.
Soon, the Vilkas family and others on the list are arrested and sent to the railway station. Along the way, they learn that Kostas has also been arrested, and it’s unlikely they’ll ever see him again. At the station, the military tries to separate the family, insisting the boys travel in a separate carriage. Oliva pleads for Jonas to stay with them, offering silver earrings, but Nikolai Kretzsky intervenes and allows the boy to stay with his sister and mother.
With no regard for sanctity, the priests perform forced baptisms on people herded into wagons like cattle, locking them up to prevent escape. In the same carriage as the Vilkas family, there are Kostas’ friends and a woman with a constantly crying little girl. Lina’s friend, Andrius, is also among the captives. During roll call, Commander Komarov singles out Kretzky due to his Ukrainian background, leading to mockery from the others who can’t fathom how he ended up among them.
In the morning, the train departs for the Altai territory in Siberia, where a labor camp awaits the prisoners. Along the journey, Lina reminisces about a trip to the beautiful city of Palanga, located on the Baltic Sea shores. She yearns for a return to normal life but realizes it’s unlikely. Despite their arrest, the Lithuanians remain unbroken in spirit, singing patriotic songs and supporting each other to boost morale on the way to Siberia. Lina looks out the small window, noting the names of the cities they pass through. She draws a map on one of her handkerchiefs, hoping to pass it to her father, believing he might save his family. During the night, they hear a girl with an unceasingly crying child, only to later realize that her baby has died.
In the morning, the officers inspect the carriages to remove those who didn’t survive the first weeks of the trip. Elena offers to bury the child, but the girl refuses to let her daughter go and denies that she’s dead. Meanwhile, Greshnev notices that Kretzky is holding a medallion. Upon learning about his wife and daughter, a colleague teases the Ukrainian and insults his family. At night, the prisoners realize they need to dispose of the dead child, and Elena takes on this grim task, tossing the body into the pit in the carriage intended for natural needs. Meanwhile, Andrius gives little Jonas a piece of amber and shares the legend behind its appearance.
After six weeks, the prisoners arrive in Altai. Elena, who lost her child, is experiencing severe stress and loses control. Soviet soldiers try to stop her, leading to a conversation with Komarov. He allows her to show where the child is but twists it to appear as an escape attempt, leading to her execution by a gunshot to the back.
Like the other captives, the Vilkas family must wash and clean up. Lina tries to distract herself from the ongoing horror, reminiscing about good times by the sea, but the harsh reality prevents her from doing so. Greshnev openly harasses Lina, but Kretzky defends her, not allowing his colleague to touch the girl.
Komarov addresses the prisoners, explaining the conditions of their stay in Siberia. They are all considered traitors, and death is the prescribed punishment, but instead, they face life imprisonment. The system is simple: no work, no food. Any escape attempt leads to death, and even those who succeed are unlikely to survive in such harsh conditions. The commander offers them a chance to sign a confession, reducing the hard labor term to 25 years. Elena is the first to refuse to sign, urging others not to succumb to provocation because they love their country and have done nothing wrong. Komarov is angered, viewing honesty as bordering on stupidity. He deliberately slows things down and orders Kretzky and other officers to watch the prisoners, denying them the opportunity to eat, sleep, or lie down. The mistreatment and lack of rest break many, and dreaming of lying down, they give in to signing a false confession betraying the Soviet regime.
After settling the prisoners, nobody is happy with their presence because Elena, Lina, and others are considered traitors and outcasts. From morning till night, they are forced to work on the land, growing crops like potatoes and beets to meet their quotas and receive their share of food. On the first working day, Lina learns that Andrius was caught stealing food and severely beaten, tied to a pole at the headquarters. When she notices the military, she asks them to let her meet the guy and help him. Kretzky is compelled to react harshly and drives Lina away while his colleagues mock him because of his nationality.
Elena is called to the headquarters as she understands Russian. Kretzky invites her to be the translator, but she refuses to become a servant for the “devils.” He notes that he also didn’t want this role but had no choice. Komarov offers her a position at the post office, promising good conditions, warmth, and food. Elena, however, remains steadfast in her loyalty to her motherland and declines the commander’s offer. Angry, he tells her that her husband was killed, but she refuses to believe it and holds onto hope that Kostas is alive. While working in the field, Lina notices a woman stealing beets. She believes she can trust her and asks for a letter to reach her father. The woman refuses to help and threatens to denounce Lina if she approaches her again. Feeling the loss of humanity in people, Lina reminisces about the wonderful time when her best friend and father were by her side.
At night, Andrius visits Lina to give stolen sheets of paper, pencils, and food for the whole family. In turn, Lina shows him a letter from art school, which she wants to open only with her father. Soon, Lina realizes that her feelings for Andrius are not just friendly but romantic, and she draws their joint portrait. A few weeks later, officers gather the people who worked in the field. They express dissatisfaction with the decreased production and constant underweight in the harvest. Elena justifies this, explaining that it has become colder, and the earth has become more solid.
Komarov searches a frightened woman and finds a beetroot in her pocket. She points her finger at Lina, claiming that the girl has an escape map. The commander forbids feeding prisoners and orders Kretzky to execute the “thief” who betrayed the country and Stalin. Tormented and suffering, Kretzky reluctantly follows Komarov’s order to avoid becoming the next corpse on the list.
In winter 1942, Lina hunts a rabbit and butchers it with her mother. Komarov calls the girl to him after discovering her talent as an artist and requests a portrait. Fearful, Lina doesn’t dare to refuse the camp commander. While attempting to draw, she realizes she can’t create a normal picture, so she draws a caricature depicting Komarov as a monster. In retaliation, the commander orders all the girls’ work and letters to be burned and deprives Lina of pencils and paper.
During Christmas, little Jonas gives his sister a portrait of their father, which survived the fire as it was blown away by the wind. Later, Andrius also visits the house and gives Lina a book and food. At night, as he prepares to leave, Lina stops him and they share a kiss. During dinner, Greshnev provokes the Ukrainian into a conflict. After drinking too much, Kretzky rudely replies to his colleague and calls him a pig. An officer threatens to kill him, but Kretzky laughs it off, mentioning that he has only one eye from his mother.
The next morning, Kretzky decides to prove to Greshnev and himself that he is a man. He goes to Elena, with whom he has fallen in love, and informs her that her husband was shot two hours after the train left for Siberia. Feeling sympathy for her, he attempts to take her by force, but Elena resists and warns that she will never belong to him. Pangs of conscience stop the Ukrainian, and he leaves.
Greshnev continues to provoke Kretzky, but this time it doesn’t work. Unable to tolerate the Russian compatriot looking down on him, Kretzky beats Greshnev. The commander witnesses the fight and summons Kretzky, revealing that he is being sent to Trophomosk Island in the Arctic to become the head of the new gulag. As a “gift,” Komarov sends Elena and her family along with him.
Several months of travel prove to be a real ordeal, and not all prisoners survive. Soldiers don’t even bother burying the dead; they simply throw the corpses overboard, disregarding the Lithuanians as human beings. Oliva falls ill, and her health deteriorates.
Upon reaching the island, the prisoners are divided into two groups: one builds the camp before the start of winter, and the other is engaged in fishing. Lina is offered a chance to run away, but she declines.
A few days later, Kretzky catches Lina attempting to escape and becomes as ruthless as Komarov. He orders a subordinate to execute the fugitive.
Winter 1952 arrives, and Kretzky becomes increasingly distraught, drinking alcohol constantly and neglecting to eat or sleep. The doctor who arrives at the gulag tries to help the sick prisoners in any way possible. Among the dying is Elena, who asks Kretzky to remember the names of her children, Lina and Jonas. Lina stands up to defend her mother, but Kretzky takes the doctor with him, who refused to provide medicine to those in need.
While searching for food near the water, Lina discovers a frozen man who had hidden leftover food. Elena realizes that her time is limited and informs the children that their father has died. Lina realizes that it’s time to open the letter she received and learns that she has been accepted into art school.
After the death of her mother, the girl approaches Kretzky and demands daily rations, warm clothes, and medicines for the prisoners. However, the commander refuses her and discovers that her mother has passed away. With the help of other prisoners, the children bury Elena in one of the snowdrifts.
Meanwhile, overwhelmed with guilt, Kretzky decides to honor the memory of the woman he loved. He performs one last act of kindness by announcing Lina and her younger brother’s amnesty and granting them a full pardon. Afterward, he takes his own life.
The film ends with Johan and Lina walking along the beach toward their ship. From 1930 to 1950, millions of innocent people were exiled to Siberia by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet regime. Families were torn apart, and many innocent lives were lost. Those who survived endured the Communist regime for another half-century. After 50 years of struggle, many of the nations occupied by the Soviet Union declared their independence, eventually helping to bring down the Iron Curtain. For some, the fight for freedom continues to this day.
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