Film Note: Kalatazov, The Cranes are Flying (1957)

I watched the Russian award winning film "The Cranes Are Flying" (Letiat' Zhuravli, 1957). It was quite an impressive piece of cinematography, featuring beautifully composed shots throughout the film, brilliant acting, moving scenes. The only fault this film, if it can be called that, is the obligatory positive treatment of Russian patriotism during WWII without any hint of the arrogance and incompetence of Stalin and his regime, which allowed the Soviet Union to be caught off guard and to suffer massive casualties, ie, to throw poorly armed or not at all armed troops into combat. Another minor flaw of this film I felt were the occasional and overly done dramatic confrontations scenes. But overall, given the political restrictions under which this was made, it is moving film.

The film focuses on Veronica's plight during the war when her virtual fiance to be, Boris, goes off to fight the war, and she waits for his return. Veronica is the epitome of virtue and dedication, but her ideals are smashed by the war and then by Mark, who manages to have his against Veronica's wishes to marry her. Much of the film depends on key symbols, like a small squirrel that Boris leaves Veronica before he marches off to the front; the migrating cranes seen at key junctures of the film. This film reminded me of Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood, which was made few later in that it adopts a different perspective on the war--through the eyes of child, while in Cranes, it's through the eyes of a woman left behind.