Unrelentingly grim, which is to be expected as this takes place in a Russian Gulag. Caspar Wrede's adaptation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's classic novel stars Tom Courtenay in the title role, an ex-soldier sentenced to ten years in prison on trumped up charges of having consorted with the Germans during WWII. He spends his day doing doing back-breaking work (primarily building a brick building in the bitterly cold Siberian snow) and trying to stay warm while trying to not starve. It's an extremely well made movie and Courtenay is excellent, but your appetite for this sort of treadmill test for the human spirit will dictate how much you'll actually enjoy watching it. The stunning cinematography is by Sven Nykvist and the dour music score is by Arne Nordheim. Ronald Harwood (who would later write THE DRESSER, a major stage & film triumph for Courtenay) wrote the unflinching screenplay.
