Synopsis
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.
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Cast
- Bel PowleyLina Vilkas
- Martin WallströmNikolai Kretzsky
- Sophie CooksonOna
- Tom SweetJonas Vilkas
- Lisa Loven KongsliElena Vilkas
- Sam HazeldineKostas Vilkas
- Aistė DiržiūtėJoana
- Greg KolpakchiGreshnev
- Jonah Hauer-KingAndrius Aras
- Nadja BobylevaMarija
Recommendations
- 70
Film Threat
Ashes in the Snow is a good, yet unsatisfying movie with the potential to have been so much better. The pace is too slow, and the characters’ arcs are predictable. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
The film is heartfelt and often powerful, but sometimes too sluggish to carry maximum impact. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Director Marius A. Markevicius and screenwriter Ben York Jones fail to find much of a fresh angle on genocide and widespread cruelty. - 40
The New York Times
There are a few powerful images. - 38
RogerEbert.com
The depictions of degradation and sadism are arguably accurate, yes. But they’re executed in a context that’s almost entirely free of meaningfully specific historical detail, to the extent that one comes to suspect this movie of commodifying human suffering. - 38
Movie Nation
Powley, a delight in “”Diary of a Teenage Girl” and “A Royal Night Out,” can be applauded for trying something darker, but the checkbox script and pedestrian direction Marius A. Markevicius, who produced Peter Weir’s escape from Siberia thriller “The Way Back,” let her down. - 25
Observer
Filmmakers never seem to run out of footnotes to history during World War II. This one is better served in the pages of a novel. It doesn’t work on film.
