Alternate Best Actor 1977: Boris Plotnikov & Vladimir Gostyukhin in The Ascent

Boris Plotnikov and Vladimir Gostyukhin did not receive Oscar nominations for portraying Sotnikov and Rybak respectively in the Ascent. 

The Ascent is a masterful film that follows two Soviet partisan soldiers as they attempt to search for food. 

The whole film you could argue is a survival film, though that will be ironic in the end, however the first half seems more directly as such as it seems to be dealing with World War II from the perspective of two soldiers sent through the harsh and snowy landscape in search of food for their unit. In the first third of the film the roles are of  Gostyukhin who seems like he might be the hero soldier as Rybak, as he brings a far greater confidence of spirit as they explore looking for resources, meanwhile Plotnikov's performance is extremely subdued and quite frankly a man just going through the motions. Not a criticism of his performance however, as what Plotnikov successfully portrays is a man very much living the life of constant dangers and being worn away by this existence.  Gostyukhin contrasts that effectively as the man still with a pronounced spirit of the soldier ready to take charge and take action. And we see him as very much the leader of the two men as he explores nearby farm houses. That isn't to say that  Gostyukhin is anything perfect in his manner in portraying Rybak, rather there is an uneasy not quite mania, but not exactly far from it as he goes about the duty with a clear desperation he can just barely cover up. Meanwhile we see Plotnikov going through the motions of the experience as Sotnikov, not quite lifeless, yet so much of the life has been purged over him through this rough existence that he is hardly living in what is the traditional sense of the word. Even as he battles a German patrol Sotnikov's performance has enough conviction to show the man will fight for his life but even there it is with the calm as though he's been doing this for so long the meaning of it has changed. Contrasting that the break in any control in Gostyukhin's performance in portraying Rybak "passion" as falling apart as it becomes clear the men cannot hold off a few German soldiers let alone a patrol. 

The men are swiftly captured despite attempting to fight then attempting to hide and after being beaten are brought to a local collaborator where we begin to dive at what the real core of this film exists. And where the two men become divided in their approach to essentially testing their will to fight against their occupations and whether or not they are truly in their convictions. Gostyukhin is very effecitve in showing the man very much within the moment of immediate fear and anxiety over their situation. Presenting no longer the passion that was so immediate, but rather still playing the same immediacy rather now that passion is solely for his survival no matter what it takes. Again contrasting against Plotnikov's performance which becomes something so very powerful because even as he seemed to be the man going through the motions, he becomes the man who truly believes as the collaborator presses him for information. Plotnikov's performance for the rest of the film is rather incredible in terms of being able to give such a powerful depiction of conviction without even contradicting what we saw before from this character. As that world weariness doesn't suddenly evaporate within his performance, in fact that is still the forward process, what is then so powerful is revealing that conviction within that state. Plotnikov brings this certain haunting calm in his performance of a man who accepts his death for his belief early on and through that there is a tremendous weight as we see the truth of the man reveal itself through his eyes. A pivotal moment being when the collaborator has him tortured with a iron, something Plotnikov conveys the fear of though it doesn't overwhelm him yet even when having it pressed against his chest, we sense the pain in his unrelenting stare but we also see such transfixing sense of the man's spirit that looks right into the collaborators soul despite the torture. 

After the torture of Sotnikov but only the interrogation of Rybak we see both men reveal themselves as Plotnikov maintains a consistency in his performance now as the man who has accepted his death, and as much as there is such a tremendous weight his face and every labored word coming from his mouth, against that is Gostyukhin's portrayal of Rybak now going a mile a minute in his words in a near hysteria of a man searching for any little method he can to survive. There is no longer the gravity of what he believes, it is just the immediate need for his survival without any other conditions being a concern of him. He brings this vicious energy of a man looking for any strategy to survive. Eventually both men are taken, along with a few other captured people, to be taken out for execution by hanging. Before we progress to this moment we have a gamble each, Sotnikov's having to do with his belief, Rybak having to do with his survival only. Plotnikov's performance is again exceptionally powerful as he unleashes all his passion suddenly in a moment, seeing all that had been within the man in an attempt to save the others and sacrifice himself. By delivering a challenge to the collaborator of self essentially, which Plotnikov's delivers with such a profound impact through the firm delivery of every word and again those eyes of his that reveal so much. Meanwhile Gostyukhin's performance is anything other than conviction managing to take his mania to fully pathetic near nothingness as he withers on the ground pleading for his life as no passion remains. A quality that continues as all walk to their execution, though Rybak is granted a reprieve by becoming a collaborator, leaving himself as a simpering servant to the Germans.

Within the execution itself the film features one of its most impactful moments as the camera rests on Plotnikov's face just before Sotnikov is about to be hanged. It is an astonishing moment of performance by Plotnikov because it is a man facing death, however in the moment there is this ethereal moment where he seems to "ascend" before his death. He no longer portrays fear but this moment of becoming more than the world as his spirit seems to rise even as he is about to die. It is a moment that is a certain kind of cinematic perfection as it manages to be both beautiful and harrowing in the same instance, where Plotnikov's performance is the core of the scene. Contrasting that is Gostyukhin's portrayal that couldn't be more worldly as the man continues on past the death of comrade and has to live with his guilt. Rybak's plight being a very different one yet also powerful in its own right as he wanders around in the wretched existence of his living where he is now tortured by his choices. Gostyukhin's amazing as you see him go past his pathetic fear to an even more intrusive horror as he envisions his own death, and finds even this eerier calm as he attempts and fails to commit suicide. Gostyukhin's work is moving in showing a man who is living but might as well be dead as he stares into the dark void of what is left of his pitiful existence. Both give remarkable performances in uncovering the real nature of each man so tangibly and through such painful circumstances. However it is Plotnikov's performance that is key to the film's most unforgettable moments, where he doesn't just seem to stare into you, he stares into your very soul. 

(Gostyukhin)

(Plotnikov)