Andris Morkāns

Facts is a dramatization of a massacre in a Lithuanian village during World War II when Nazis rounded up over 100 men, women, and children accused of partisan activity and then torched the houses in which they were held. Using Russian interrogations of a few survivors, the testimony of villagers, and some of the Germans responsible for the killing, the film gradually reconstructs the event and its context.

It is the post-war era on the Latvian border, and the Lithuanian girl Maryte has located her relative, Antanas. Having been a farmhand on a rich farm as well as the lover of the owner's wife, upon his return from the war Antanas hopes to gain as much as he can from the collapse of the old world. The wife's daughter, Ausma, has since grown up and seems much more desirable to Antanas than his former lover. The historical situation makes for a tense atmosphere, because in the nighttime partisans may emerge from the forest, while during the daytime everyone must be careful to follow the new rules of life under Soviet rule.

Alicija (33), a Polish-born liberal free-thinker, joins the Awakening movement in occupied Latvia. Her newlywed husband Ilgvars (53), a man with the experience of another generation, calls her to be more careful and cautious. With the support of a close friend, the poet Normunds (40), Alicija soon comes to the forefront of the Singing Revolution. However, alongside the first success, difficulties appear – Alicija receives an anonymous letter accusing Ilgvars of being a former KGB informant. His ambiguous answer leads to her wanting to find out the truth. Realizing that her husband’s actions in the KGB have affected the fate of her close friend, Alicija faces an unenviable choice. Torn by internal contradictions, she continues her work to restore the country’s independence, unable to find courage to resolve the situation. Alicija buries herself in her work and the emotional connection with her husband gradually fades away.