A family struggles to survive in an area that was claimed as part of Rumania, Poland and Ukraine, all within a short span of time. When World War II comes, various family members choose different masters; some even choose to work for the Soviets. War, struggle, marriages, births, deaths--all these events punctuate the story of this large family.
Cinematography
Illienko's camera moves like a fever you can't shake.
Direction
Soviet-era surrealism that somehow got past the censors.
Production
Carpathian landscapes that eat the characters alive.
Director
Yurii Illienko
Ivan Mykolaichuk
Petro Dzvonar
Yurii Mykolaichuk
Bohdan Dzvonar
Alexandr Plotnikov
Les Dzvonar
Larysa Kadochnykova
Dana
Bohdan Stupka
Orest Dzvonar
Nataliia Naum
Katryna Dzvonar
Gemma Firsova
Vivdya
Vasyl Symchych
Priest Myron
Oleh Polstvin
Heorhiy as a child
Mykhailo Illienko
Heorhiy
Leonid Bakshtayev
Ostap
Volodymyr Shakalo
Levytsky
Mykola Oliinyk
Roman
Mariia Mykolaichuk
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Banned briefly in the USSR for its ambiguous politics—neither praising Soviets nor demonizing them enough.
Illienko and Mykolaichuk were the twin gods of Ukrainian 'poetic cinema,' and this was their most politically daring collaboration.
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