The Assault

The Assault

Year: 2022

Runtime: 90 mins

Language: Kazakh

Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov

Drama

Masked assailants with machine guns invade a Karatas secondary school, taking students hostage and executing one victim without making any demands. As a severe snowstorm delays the army's arrival for two days, a maths teacher named Tazshi takes it upon himself to organize a makeshift rescue team. His unlikely group includes his ex-wife, the gym teacher, the timid school principal, an alcoholic night watchman, the village idiot, and an inept police chief.

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Timeline – The Assault (2022)

Trace every key event in The Assault (2022) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Ploeg's assassination triggers a brutal reprisal

January 1945: After the shot that kills Fake Ploeg, neighbors move the body from in front of the Steenwijks' house to a position in front of the Steenwijks' door. The act unleashes chaos as rumors spread and the family next door becomes entangled in the events. Anton's family is killed and their house is set on fire, scattering Anton into the night. The moment marks the beginning of Anton's long struggle to understand what happened that night.

January 1945 Haarlem outskirts
2

Anton spends the night in a police cell

Anton spends the night in a dark police station cell in Heemstede, overwhelmed by fear and confusion. An unseen young woman prisoner offers him quiet comfort in the bleak hours after the violence. The scene plants the seeds of memory that will echo throughout his life, even as he does not yet know what to make of it.

January 1945 Heemstede
3

Convoy to Amsterdam and a soldier's protection

As Nazi authorities transport him toward Amsterdam, a German soldier dies trying to protect Anton during an air attack. The peril underscores how fragile his safety remains in the chaos of occupied Europe. After the convoy, he is placed in the care of an aunt and uncle in Amsterdam.

January 1945 Amsterdam
4

1952: Return to Haarlem and the war memorial

The first postwar return to Haarlem brings Anton to a party and a visit to his old neighbors, the Beumers. He confronts the monument erected to honor his parents and the others who died that night, confronting the visible scar of the past. The trip marks a moment of public memory in a personal history.

1952 Haarlem
5

1956: Encounter with Fake Ploeg's son

A few years after his 1952 visit, Anton encounters Fake Ploeg's son and they compare their divergent paths. Anton, the orphan who built a medical career, faces the son of a collaborator who survived in a different role. The conversation probes the unfairness and complexity of guilt, punishment, and memory.

1956
6

Postwar life: becoming an anesthesiologist and a family man

In the ensuing decades, Anton trains and practices as an anesthesiologist, shaping his professional identity. He marries twice and has one child with each wife, building a personal life that exists alongside his unsettled memories. His recollections remain fragmented, and he learns mainly through chance encounters rather than deliberate pursuit of the truth.

1950s-1980s
7

1966: funeral sparks new revelations

At the funeral of an older man connected to his father-in-law, old resistance members debate current politics and the pace of justice. Anton overhears a recount of a resistance action that points to Ploeg's assassination, deepening the mystery. He shares his knowledge with Cor Takes, whose memory of the night is incomplete.

1966
8

1966: uncovering the identity of the comforter

During the gathering, Anton learns more about the likely identity of the unnamed woman who comforted him in the police cell. The revelation adds a human hook to the night’s events, but many details remain unresolved. The moment underscores how memory is partial and unreliable.

1966
9

1981: final revelation about the body’s placement

As Anton approaches grandfatherhood, a neighbor explains why Ploeg’s body was moved toward the Steenwijks’ house rather than away, revealing a motive rooted in what the neighbor knew that night. The explanation reframes the night’s moral calculus but stops short of complete closure. The memory persists, shaping how he sees his family and history.

1981 Haarlem
10

Background of postwar era: Cold War and social movements

The narrative places the night within a broader postwar context—the emergence of the Cold War, anti-establishment Provo movements, and a large anti-nuclear demonstration. These social currents frame how Dutch society confronts its wartime past. The backdrop colors the characters' choices and the meaning of memory.

1960s-1980s
11

Memory and interpretation: the protagonist's ongoing sense of mystery

Across the decades, Anton wrestles with memories he cannot fully reconstruct and with motives others may have hidden. He weighs actions and consequences, and the delicate boundary between intention and accident. The novel makes memory itself a central protagonist, always partial and evolving.

1950s-1980s

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:24

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