(Odnazhdy nochyu, USSR 1945, 73 min., 35mm, Russian with English subtitles)
One of the most psychologically tense film of the World War II era was created in Armenia by a
group of Russian filmmakers who fled the Nazi invasion. Their personal experiences were
reflected in this elegant and gripping film, which balances between a thriller and a tragedy. In a
semi-ruined town, occupied by the German army, a young woman hides wounded Soviet pilots
from the local authorities. The horrors she has endured – which the viewer can only surmise –
combined with an unrelenting sense of fear, drive her to the brink of insanity. Irina Radchenko,
the most promising Russian film actress of her generation, played the part with a chilling
physiological authenticity, as if foreshadowing her own tragic fate.
35mm print provided by Österreichisches Filmmuseum (Austrian Film Museum).