One of my favorite films. I would highly recommend this movie to someone who enjoys Joe Wright's films like Atonement, which has a very similar feel to this film.
The Cranes Are Flying (Летят журавли)
User Rating
- Soviet Union
- 1957
- · 97m
Director
Mikhail Kalatozov
Cast
Tatyana Samoylova,
Aleksey Batalov,
Vasili Merkuryev,
Aleksandr Shvorin,
Svetlana Kharitonova,
Konstantin Kadochnikov
Genre
Drama,
Romance,
War
Veronika and Boris come together in Moscow shortly before World War II and promise to rendezvous before Boris leaves to fight. Boris misses the meeting and is off to the front lines, while Veronika waits patiently, sending letters faithfully. After her house is bombed, Veronika moves in with Boris' family, into the company of a cousin with his own intentions.
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What are critics saying?
100
TV Guide Magazine
Generally free of the party line one usually associates with Soviet films of its period, THE CRANES ARE FLYING is an antiwar love story, set during WWII, which centers on the romance between pretty young Samoilova and sensitive factory worker Batalov.
100
Chicago Tribune by Robert K. Elder
An exciting World War II romantic triangle drama about a young woman (Tatyana Samoilova) caught in war's turmoil, "Cranes" was hailed by 1950s U.S. critics for its humanism. But what burns this movie into memory is its stunning visual style: the rich, mobile camerawork of Kalatozov and genius cinematographer Sergei Uresevsky. [22 Feb 2008, p.C2]
90
The New York Times by Bosley Crowther
Thanks to Mr. Kalatozov's direction and the excellent performance Tatyana Samoilova gives as the girl, one absorbs a tremendous feeling of sympathy from this film—a feeling that has no awareness of geographical or political bounds.
88
Slant Magazine by Jake Cole
One of the greatest films of the Soviet era.
80
Time Out
There is much to admire: the vital performances, notably that of the dark-eyed Tatyana Samojlova as the left-behind Veronika; Sergei Urusevsky's beautifully composed b/w camerawork; the urgent crowd scenes and dynamic mise-en-scène. But Vajnberg's too pointed and occasionally gauche and melodramatic score is unfortunate, given the movie's overall subtlety and emotional restraint.
80
The Observer (UK)
Mikhail Kalatozov's The Cranes Are Flying has superb lyrical photography and a heartbreaking performance by Tatyana Samojlova as a hospital worker who makes a bad marriage after hearing that her fiance has been killed in action. [28 Jan 2007, p.20]
80
Empire
Truly classic film-making.
60
The New Yorker by Pauline Kael
Somewhat silly, but with fine sequences, and Miss Samoilova, a grandniece of Stanislavsky, does him honor.
50
Chicago Reader by Dave Kehr
It’s exactly what you’d expect: tepid, artsy, and grayish, though it has surprising bursts of sincere sentiment.
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