The war is over, the struggle is just beginning
Lithuania, 1948. The war is over, but the country is left in ruins. 19-year-old Untė is a member of the partisan movement resisting Soviet occupation. The Lithuanians know that they count for little in the scheme of world geopolitics, and that they have been abandoned to Stalin. However, it is quickly apparent that their resistance is fatally compromised as they turn on each other in outbursts of betrayal and retribution. With its sombre tones and Chekhovian tensions, it is easy to see how this mordant drama attracted the curators at Cannes, who made it an official selection this year. Sharunas Bartas has long been a filmmaker to watch with several of his films selected for the Director’s Fortnight.
