What Is It Was In May About?
The premise of It Was In May in 267 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In the quiet months after Germany’s surrender, a small Soviet reconnaissance detachment is posted to an isolated farmstead that seems untouched by the recent horrors. The landscape is a patchwork of freshly plowed fields, soot‑stained barns, and the lingering echo of wartime newsreels, creating a stark contrast between the ordinary rhythms of rural life and the unsettled aftermath of conflict.
The unit is led by Lieutenant Nikolaev, a pragmatic officer whose steady composure masks a deeper unease as he navigates the fragile peace of occupation. Their host, Rashke, a prosperous pig farmer, offers a courteous veneer that hints at unspoken layers of the past, while his younger wife and teenage son move through the household with a quiet, almost rehearsed normalcy. The soldiers, weary from years of combat, find their camaraderie tested by the subtle strains that run beneath the farm’s surface.
The film’s tone is deliberately meditative, moving between the stark realism of a war‑torn countryside and moments of hushed reflection that suggest something darker lies just out of view. Cinematic flourishes—archival footage that opens the story and a gentle, bittersweet arrangement of Sonny Bono’s “Mama” that closes it—underscore a persistent sense of melancholy and the uneasy transition from violence to tentative calm.
Within this restrained setting, the characters each carry their own burdens of memory and guilt, and the audience is invited to sense the tension between a world that appears to be rebuilding and the lingering shadows of recent atrocities. The result is a haunting portrait of a post‑war frontier where ordinary life resumes, yet the specter of what has been endured remains ever‑present.
What Happens in It Was In May?
The complete story of It Was In May, from the first scene to the last, in 647 words (about 3 minutes). Spoilers throughout.
Spoilers ahead
In the immediate aftermath of May 1945, a small detachment of Soviet reconnaissance troops takes up temporary residence on the farm of Rashke, a well-off German pig farmer who lives there with his much younger wife and teenage son. The man appears outwardly cordial, even deferential toward their group and their leader, Lieutenant Nikolaev, yet Rashke and his family quietly slip away each night to sleep somewhere else, creating a lingering sense of unease around the farm’s quiet regularity.
One day, a mishap on the road leads Nikolaev to crash his motorcycle near a nearby town. He is helped by fellow soldiers who are stationed in an abandoned mansion nearby. As the men spend the day together, they share memories from the war, debate what life might look like after victory, and consider the strange efficiency of the German farms surrounding them. The mood blends camaraderie with a growing edge of weariness, as if the war’s shadows have seeped into their conversations as thoroughly as into the soil.
That night, a walk through a deserted landscape brings the group to a long-forgotten concentration camp. They enter a space characterized by silent barracks and dark corridors, filled with the remnants and echoes of people long gone. In a room with unusually thick walls, enormous furnaces, and ceiling vents, they imagine the room once used as a boiler, a memory that unsettles them and makes the night feel heavier with history.
The next day, back at Rashke’s farm, a tense moment erupts when Rashke’s son accuses one of the soldiers of killing a pig. The other soldiers react with anger, revealing that the accused man is a survivor from a village that Rashke’s family had burned in the past. Nikolaev intervenes, trying to restore calm and control the situation, underscoring the fragile lines between past crimes, present loyalties, and the chain of command.
As evening settles, Rashke and his family depart again, and three emaciated former camp prisoners appear before the house. The first is Stefan, a Polish man, who recounts how his wife Katarzyna was forced to work for Rashke until exhaustion and hunger drove her to madness, after which Rashke sent her to the camp where she was executed. Stefan’s vivid memories include the gas chambers and the crematorium where countless women and children perished, their ashes scattered over the nearby fields as if they were fertilizer.
The second former prisoner is a German engineer who speaks Russian and speaks bitterly about the betrayal of ordinary Germans by their own country. He recounts how his wife received a bill for the state’s expenses tied to the execution of her brother, a communist, adding a cold, bureaucratic sting to the human tragedy. The third prisoner, also German, haunted by memories of guard dogs, mutters in his native tongue, a grim reminder of the fear and control that marked the era.
The encounter leaves the soldiers shaken. They attempt to seize Rashke, but he vanishes into the night, leaving them to face the war’s lingering horrors on their own terms. The film frames this confrontation with a stark tonal arc: it opens with wartime newsreel footage and closes on peaceful postwar city scenes, underscored by Sonny Bono’s song “Mama” arranged by Paul Mauriat. The musical contrast heightens the sorrow and restraint of the story, emphasizing the gulf between the era’s brutal memories and the fragile calm that follows.
Throughout, the narrative probes memory, guilt, and the long echoes of violence that persist even after the fighting ends. The setting—a German farm that hosts a fragile semblance of hospitality, a distant camp that once housed terror, and a postwar world that struggles to reconcile with it all—forms a quiet meditation on how ordinary life resumes amid the shadows of past crimes. The result is a somber, meditative look at the cost of war and the uneasy process of moving forward.
It Was In May Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
15 key events in the order they happen, from “Opening sequence: wartime newsreel frames the story” to “Musical coda: Mama arranged by Mauriat”. 14 events name a place, across 6 locations.
- 1
Opening sequence: wartime newsreel frames the story
The film opens with wartime newsreel footage, framing the setting as the war ends. This prologue hints at memory and loss rather than immediate action. It primes the audience for the moral questions to come.
When:Opening sequence
- 2
Soviet reconnaissance troops occupy Rashke's farm
In May 1945, a group of Soviet reconnaissance soldiers takes up temporary residence on Rashke's farm. Rashke appears friendly and servile toward the soldiers, while his wife and teenage son watch warily. The uneasy coexistence foreshadows what the soldiers will learn about the past.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 3
Rashke's family sleeps elsewhere; he stays with the soldiers
Rashke presents a genial facade toward the troops, but his wife and son sleep in a different home each night. The nightly separation hints at a deeper tension between the occupiers and Rashke's household. The dynamic colors the atmosphere on the farm.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 4
Nikolaev crashes en route to town; rescued at the abandoned mansion
Nikolaev crashes his motorcycle on the way to a nearby town and is helped by fellow soldiers stationed in an abandoned mansion. They spend the day together, sharing memories of the war and dreams of life after its end. The gathering offers the soldiers a window into ordinary life beyond combat.
When:May 1945 Where:Abandoned mansion near town
- 5
The unit explores a deserted concentration camp
That night the soldiers wander into a deserted concentration camp and confront its silent barracks and dark corridors. The eerie structures evoke the magnitude of the victims' suffering. Their behavior is haunted as they move through the space.
When:May 1945 Where:Deserted concentration camp
- 6
A thick-walled room fuels a boiler-room theory
In a room with unusually thick walls, large furnaces, and ceiling vents, they speculate it was a boiler room. The speculative moment underscores questions about how such spaces were used. The claustrophobic setting amplifies the memory's weight.
When:May 1945 Where:Concentration camp room
- 7
Pig incident at the farm sparks tension
The next day back at the farm, Rashke's son accuses one soldier of killing a pig, triggering anger among the group. Nikolaev intervenes to calm everyone and prevent a riot. The incident reveals how war memories simmer beneath the surface.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 8
Accused soldier is revealed as a burned-village survivor
The accused soldier is revealed to be a survivor of a village burned to the ground. Nikolaev tries to de-escalate the growing tension and protect his men. The revelation deepens the moral complexity of the soldiers' duties.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 9
Three emaciated prisoners arrive and Stefan begins recounting
Three emaciated former camp prisoners appear as Rashke and his family leave for the evening. Their presence confronts the soldiers with the truth of the prisoners' fates. Stefan, one of the prisoners, begins to recount the horrors tied to Rashke's past actions.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 10
Stefan recounts Katarzyna's suffering and execution
Stefan describes how Katarzyna was forced to work for Rashke until exhaustion and madness, ultimately leading to her execution in the camp. He details gas chambers and crematoriums, and the ashes spread over the fields. The tale personalizes the atrocity and links Rashke to the machinery of oppression.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
Show the other 5 events of It Was In May Hide the last 5 events
- 11
German engineer prisoner recalls betrayal and bills
A German engineer prisoner recalls his wife receiving a bill to pay for the state expenses of her brother's execution. He bitterly laments the betrayal of ordinary Germans by their government. The anecdote adds a bitter edge to the prisoners' recollections.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 12
Mutters about guard dogs amplify the horror
Another German prisoner mutters in German about guard dogs, muffled by memories of the past. The moment underscores the persistence of fear and trauma. It reinforces the sense that history cannot be easily contained.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 13
Rashke disappears as the past asserts itself
The soldiers attempt to capture Rashke, but he disappears, vanishing into the night. The event leaves them to confront the war's lingering horrors without a clear reckoning. It highlights the elusiveness of accountability when memory is so powerful.
When:May 1945 Where:Rashke's farm
- 14
Closing postwar city scenes
The film closes with peaceful postwar city scenes, offering a quiet contrast to the grim memories. The serene images remind viewers that life goes on, even as trauma lingers. Sonny Bono's Mama provides a poignant musical backdrop to this transition.
When:Postwar Where:Postwar city
- 15
Musical coda: Mama arranged by Mauriat
The credits feature an arrangement of Sonny Bono's Mama by Paul Mauriat, underscoring the bittersweet ending. The song emphasizes memory's echo after the war and the distance between peace and trauma. The combination of image and music highlights memory's enduring pull.
When:Postwar Where:Postwar
Who Are the Main Characters in It Was In May?
6 characters, among them Lieutenant Nikolaev, Rashke and Stefan: who each one is and the part they play in the story.
- LN
Lieutenant Nikolaev
Soviet reconnaissance unit leader who maintains outward control while internalizing the war’s horrors. He anchors the group’s discipline but is forced to navigate a moral line when fear and memory threaten to overwhelm order.
- ⚔️ Military
- 🤔 Moral Dilemma
- R
Rashke
Wealthy German pig farmer who appears friendly to the Soviet soldiers but is haunted by a brutal past, including crimes against Rashke’s own family’s prisoners. He and his family disappear at night, hinting at a shadowy history that refuses to stay buried.
- 🏡 Rural figure
- 🕯️ Secrets of the past
- S
Stefan
Polish former prisoner who recounts the horrors of the camp and Rashke’s brutality. He describes the gas chambers and the brutal exploitation his wife Katarzyna endured before her execution, making him a witness to the war’s cruelty.
- 🇵🇱 Polish survivor
- 🕯️ Trauma
- K
Katarzyna
Stefan’s wife, torn from her family by Rashke’s exploitation, driven to madness by hunger, and eventually sent to the camp where she was executed. Her story embodies the human cost of wartime exploitation.
- 🇵🇱 Polish victim
- 🕯️ Victims of brutality
- GE
German engineer
A German engineer who speaks Russian and reflects on wartime betrayals. He recounts his wife receiving a bill for the execution of his brother, lamenting the way ordinary Germans were affected by the political machinery of the time.
- 🇩🇪 German engineer
- 💬 War guilt
- UG
Unnamed German prisoner (with dogs)
An additional former prisoner who mutters in German and recalls the guard dogs, portraying the lingering fear and trauma of the camp’s brutality.
- 🇩🇪 Camp survivor
- 🕯️ Trauma
Where and When Is It Was In May Set?
It Was In May is set in Rashke's farm, Abandoned mansion and Nearby town (May 1945). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
May 1945
Set in the immediate postwar period, the film juxtaposes the end of the Great Patriotic War with the unsettled, memory-haunted landscape of rural Europe. The soldiers discuss their futures and the cost of war as they encounter former prisoners and confront the past. The time frame anchors the story in a moment of transition from victory to reckoning.
Where
Rashke's farm, Abandoned mansion, Nearby town
The primary setting centers on Rashke’s farm, a rural estate used as temporary Soviet lodging after the war. An abandoned nearby mansion serves as a gathering place for the soldiers, while the surrounding area hints at a recently liberated but unsettled landscape. The night-time stay on the farm underscores the uneasy coexistence between the occupiers and the locals in the immediate postwar period.
- 🏡 Rural farm
- 🪖 Postwar occupation
- 🕯️ Ghosts of the past
What Are the Themes of It Was In May?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Memory, Moral Dilemma and Haunted Places.
-
01
Memory
Memory and guilt shape the soldiers' perceptions as they listen to Stefan’s recount of Rashke’s crimes and the camp horrors. The past intrudes on the present, turning the farm into a site where the echoes of gas chambers and executions linger. The film probes responsibility and complicity in wartime violence, showing how memories both haunt and reveal truths.
-
02
Moral Dilemma
The soldiers’ attempts to pursue Rashke test their discipline as fear and anger threaten to override orders. Nikolaev’s insistence on calm contrasts with the men’s volatile reactions to Rashke’s past. The film questions whether wartime duties justify cruelty, and whether truth-telling can coexist with survival.
-
03
Haunted Places
The deserted concentration camp and its furnace rooms haunt the characters, turning spaces of quiet postwar life into memorials of violence. Thick walls and vents symbolize the erasure of humanity under tyranny and the persistence of memory. The setting heightens the sense of dread and reminds the audience that place shapes moral weight.
What Kind of Film Is It Was In May?
Melancholic in tone, with slow pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Melancholic
- Pacing
- Slow
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bittersweet
A hauntingly meditative and somber drama that unfolds in the quiet aftermath of war, using a slow, deliberate pace to immerse the viewer in the oppressive weight of memory and the grim process of confronting unimaginable atrocities.
- somber
- haunting
- reflective
- oppressive
- meditative
- grim
- post-war
- confronting the past
- memory and guilt
- survival
Content notes: war violence, concentration camp themes, mass death, psychological trauma.
Quiz
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