Back to Your Arms

He missed the bus, and nothing was ever the same. Vladas went to say goodbye to a friend in 1944, as the Soviets were approaching and he and his family were fleeing Lithuania for America. He was late; they were gone, and he wouldn't see his daughter Ruta for 17 years. Flash forward to 1961: Ruta is studying in West Germany, and intrigue is building as East and West Germany are about to divide. Vladas, now forlorn and middle-aged, arrives in East Berlin, hoping to meet up with his long-lost daughter. His Soviet handlers try to lure her from the western part of the city to the East, playing on her desire to reunite with her beloved father. But Ruta hesitates: she's seen people being shoved into black cars and disappearing over the still-porous border. BACK TO YOUR ARMS is an affecting Cold War drama that depicts regular people whose lives were changed by happenstance. It features stylish period settings and original footage of 1961 Berlin. (In English, German, Lithuanian, and Russian with subtitles) –B.B.