'Nobody Wanted to Die' by Vytautas Zalakevicius, the film the author feels especially attached to, is used as a vehicle to portray the special character of the magic and rituals of Lithuania's cinema. It had for years made indirect attempts to fight for cultural identity and independence the political life of Lithuania lacked. 'Nobody Wanted to Die' tells the story of the fight against anti-communist partisans, which - it goes without saying - is doomed to lose. But the message is not so clear. The film harbors two sources of influences. One flowed from an official ideology or even current propaganda. The other source, much more important, grew out of Lithuania's culture, its myths and archaic content. The author describes how through extolling the archetypal symbols, Lithuanian's cinema fights with the Soviet system - through sacralization of Lithuania and a revival of the experience of community among Lithuanians.
