Filmmakers Oksana Dvornichenko and Helga Landauer explore the mystery surrounding the man frequently cited as the greatest composer of the 20th Century in this documentary exploring the life and career of
Dmitry Shostakovich. As Dvornichenko and Landauer make the nine day ocean voyage from Moscow to New York, the ideologically fueled propaganda of the Soviet ocean-liner's shipboard events serve as a telling contrast to the highly personal facts surrounding the publicity-shunning composer. Divided into nine chapters - one for each day of the voyage - the film reveals how the retiring genius was forced to choose between his artistic integrity and political ideology after being reluctantly thrust into the public eye. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide