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Izrail (Jossi Pollak) is an incredibly strong man, and in this harrowing drama, he needs to be. As the Nazis advance across Europe, he manages to flee with his family into the Ukraine, settling them into the rural life there. However, once the Nazis overrun the place, his Jewishness is exposed. The invaders plan to execute him, but then an important general's horse dies, and his captors hit upon the (to them) humorous idea of hitching this strong man to the traces. Then they decide it would be fun to see how he would do in competition with a real horse. They tell him he will only see his wife and children alive if he can beat a real horse in a race. Somehow he survives and returns to his ravaged village. What he finds there robs him of his immense strength once and for all.