When the communist government raises food prices in 1962, the rebellious workers from the small industrial town of Novocherkassk go on strike. What ensues is seen through the eyes of a devout party activist.

Director, screenwriter and producer Andrei Konchalovsky has enjoyed equally distinguished directing careers for both the stage and screen. His best-known film credits include “Uncle Vanya,” based on the Chekhov play and regarded as one of the best Russian films, and “House of Fools,” a Russian-French co-production about an asylum along the Russian-Chechnya border. In 2012, Konchalovsky wrote, directed and produced “The Battle for Ukraine,” which provided an in-depth analysis of how Ukraine to this day struggles to escape from the shadow of Russia.

“Konchalovsky has confounded us yet again, damn him, by coming up with his masterpiece.”
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

“A dazzling, coldly furious account of events that year in Novocherkassk.”
Danny Leigh, Financial Times

[T]hese crisp, high-contrast images speak to another impulse as well: to look into a past shrouded in the fog of delusion and doublespeak, and to see through it with a clarity that burns and even heals.”
Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times