In 1946, Joseph Stalin kindly invited Russian expatriates to rejoin the motherland. Upon their return, they were summarily interrogated and executed. The lucky ones ended up in overcrowded communal housing. As a foreigner, she's treated like a second-class citizen, and her husband sticks close to party line to avoid further persecution. Movement unfolds with the stiff- limbs of a silver screen giant waking up after a four decade slumber.
Orchestral bombast fills the air.