L'ange de Sibérie

Ruth Leuwerik, after a string of well-bred ladies and long suffering wives, plays a courageous female doctor in this German POW drama. Interred in a Siberan prison camp during WWII, Leuwerik lifts the spirits of her fellow prisoners with her dedication to her job and her indomitable spirit. The doctor's humanitarianism even extends to an oaf, who tries to rape her; he wins his undying respect when she protects him from retaliation by the other prisoners. The film's romantic angle is handled by Hanns Messmer as an inmate who vows to marry Leuwerik if and when they are released. Hardly a slice of life-the POW camp is nowhere near as brutal as the real thing -- Taiga nonetheless scores on the strength of its leading players.