Bitter Harvest

2017

103 mins

Directed by George Mendeluk
15%
67%
Drama
Romance
War

Max Irons and Samantha Barks lead this war drama set against the backdrop of the Holodomor, the man-made famine that... More

Max Irons and Samantha Barks lead this war drama set against the backdrop of the Holodomor, the man-made famine that saw millions of Ukranians starve to death between 1932 and 1933.

As Stalin advances the ambitions of the burgeoning Soviet Union, a young artist named Yuri (Irons) battles to survive famine, imprisonment and torture to save his childhood sweetheart Natalka (Barks). Against this tragic backdrop, Yuri escapes from a Soviet prison and joins the anti-Bolshevik resistance movement as he struggles to reunite with Natalka and continue the fight for a free Ukraine.

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Bitter Harvest | Ratings & Reviews

15_%60 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
67_%1,526 reviews
Audience score rating

"The low-budget aesthetic was probably unavoidable, but a subject like the Holodomor demands something more than a TV-movie aesthetic and pitched battle scenes featuring a couple dozen combatants..."

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Village Voice

"Awkward and inauthentic."

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Time Out

"There ought to be no lack of firepower in telling this shameful tale. Too often, however, "Bitter Harvest" is guilty of overkill."

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The Washington Post

"There is a vital, saddening and illuminating story to be told here, and unfortunately, it doesn't always get the chance to make itself heard."

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Herald Sun

"Torn between exploring the horrors of Stalin's rule and Yuri and Natalka's relationship, the film opts for an overtly melodramatic tale of love."

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FilmInk

"Perhaps not the best backdrop for a trite love story, nor does Mendeluk have quite the epic vision of David Lean in "Doctor Zhivago.""

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Boston Globe

"Teaching important history to younger generations via popular culture is always a worthy cause. It's just that soaking this sobering story in a soppy romance does little to advance that cause."

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