4.4 /10 1 Votes
11% Rotten Tomatoes Directed by George Mendeluk Music by Benjamin Wallfisch Director George Mendeluk Distributor Roadside Attractions | 7.2/10 IMDb 2/4 Roger Ebert Produced by Ian Ihnatowycz Cinematography Douglas Milsome Story by Richard Sutton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Written by Richard Bachynsky Hoover
George Mendeluk Starring Max Irons
Samantha Barks
Barry Pepper
Tamer Hassan
Lucy Brown
Terence Stamp
Jack Hollington
Richard Brake
Ostap Stupka
Alexander Pecheritsyia Initial release 23 February 2017 (Ukraine) Producers George Mendeluk, Jaye Gazeley, Chad Barager, Roman Kindrachuk, Darko Skulsky Cast Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Terence Stamp, Barry Pepper, Aneurin Barnard Similar Closing the Ring, Earth, Head in the Clouds, Shchors, Rings Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bitter harvest official trailer 1 2017 max irons samantha barks drama movie hd
Bitter Harvest is a 2017 romantic-drama film set in Soviet Ukraine in the early 1930s. The film was directed by George Mendeluk and the original story and script was written by Richard Bachynsky Hoover who collaborated on the final shooting script phase with director George Mendeluk. The film stars Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Barry Pepper, Tamer Hassan and Terence Stamp. The film is produced by Ian Ihnatowycz, Stuart Baird, George Mendeluk, Chad Barager. Dennis Davidson, Peter D. Graves and William J. Immerman serve as executive producers along with Richard Bachysnky Hoover.
Contents
Plot
Inspired by actual events, Bitter Harvest follows two lovers, played by Irons and Barks, struggling with their kulak grain farmer families to survive the Holodomor, the Kremlin's regime-forced famine-genocide that took place as part of the Soviet famine of 1932–33. As Joseph Stalin attempts to build a strong and prosperous Soviet Union, a young Ukrainian artist named Yuri (Max Irons) fights to survive starvation, detainment, and torture to spare his childhood sweetheart Natalka (Samantha Barks) from the famine-genocide. Against this backdrop, Yuri escapes from a Soviet prison and joins the resistance movement as he fights to rejoin with Natalka and proceed with the battle for a free Ukraine.
Cast
Production
In 2008, Ukrainian Canadian Richard Bachynsky Hoover began to seek financial support for his script to produce a film about the Holodomor from the Ukrainian Government which was not supportive in the cinematography minister sector or by various Ukrainian oligarchs. In 2011, Bachynsky Hoover approached fellow Ukrainian Canadian Ian Ihnatowycz who committed to financing production of the $21 million film in its entirety.
The film was originally titled The Devil's Harvest. Filmed on location in Ukraine, the film's cast includes Barry Pepper, Tamer Hassan and Terence Stamp. In his attempt to help uncover certain parts of Kremlin history, producer Ian Ihnatowycz stated, "Given the importance of the Holodomor, and that few outside Ukraine knew about this man-made famine because it had been covered up by the Kremlin regime, this chapter of history needed to be told in English on the silver screen for the first time in feature film history."
Filming began in Ukraine by November 15, 2013. On February 5, 2014, Variety reported that the shoot had just ended in Kiev. Several local crew took part in the simultaneously held Euromaidan demonstrations.
In early 2014, post-production continued at London's Pinewood Studios, using the official James Bond filming tank for under-water filming. Skyfall editor Stuart Baird and SFX teams worked on the film in post production.
Release
The film was acquired by Roadside Attractions for a 1st quarter 2017 US release. Roadside Attractions released the film in the US on February 24, 2017. "D" Films Canada will launch Bitter Harvest on March 3 in Canada as well as many other film distributors who have bought the rights for the film in major countries globally who will also launch the film during the first quarter of 2017.
Reception
Bitter Harvest received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 11% approval rating, based on 47 reviews. The consensus says, "Bitter Harvest lives down to its title with a clichéd wartime romance whose clumsy melodrama dishonors the victims of the real-life horrors it uses as a backdrop."