The Cranes are Flying
Encyclopedia
The Cranes Are Flying is a Soviet film
about World War II
. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage suffered to the Soviet psyche as a result of World War II (known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War
). It was directed at Mosfilm
by the Georgian
-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov
in 1957 and stars Aleksey Batalov
and Tatiana Samoilova. It won the Palme d'Or
at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival
, the only Soviet film to win that award, although The Turning Point (1946) was one of eleven films awarded that year's Grand Prix, the predecessor of the Palme d'Or.
The call to war sounds, and the country responds with great patriotic fervor. Boris volunteers to defend his homeland from the attackers, much to Veronika's sadness. He is killed in a swamp, while saving the life of a fellow soldier. However, he is listed as missing in action; neither Veronika nor his family learn that he has been killed.
The German blitzkrieg
then begins; people take refuge in the subway system underneath the city. During one attack, Veronika's parents refuse to leave their apartment; when Veronika returns, she finds that the building has been bombed. The entire apartment is gone and there is no sign of her parents. Fyodor Ivanovich invites Veronika to live with his family. Mark, who has been pursuing Veronika, is put in charge of keeping her company to lift her spirits. He is obviously in love with her, but she continually rejects him, waiting for Boris to return. However, during one bombing raid Veronika refuses to go down to the shelter and is left alone with Mark. This scene is unclear, but it appears that Mark rapes Veronika. She is then shamed into marrying him, and the rest of the family believes that she has betrayed Boris.
The family is relocated with many other Russians further East to escape the German offensive. They live in a temporary community where Fyodor Ivanovich, Irina, and Veronika work in a military hospital. Mark spends his time partying and playing music; he and Veronika are both clearly unhappy in their marriage. One of the soldiers in the hospital becomes hysterical when he receives a letter saying that his girlfriend has left him; Fyodor Ivanovich admonishes the soldier to forget about her, since women who cannot wait for their men to return are not worth grieving. Veronika overhears the speech and becomes very upset, since she appears to be such a woman.
Fyodor Ivanovich discovers that Mark's deferral from conscription
was not because he was considered too talented to be drafted, as he has claimed, but because he bribed an official in Fyodor Ivanovich's name. Fyodor Ivanovich suddenly realizes that Mark has betrayed not only Russia, but the family as well, and has taken advantage of Veronika. Fyodor Ivanovich confronts Mark and kicks him out of the house, while Veronika is invited to stay and is forgiven by the family for "betraying" Boris.
The man that Boris died trying to save comes in search of Boris's family to tell them the news. When Veronika finds out, she refuses to believe it, saying that Boris's friend Stepan, who volunteered with Boris, will know what happened to him. At the end of the war, when the soldiers return in a victory parade, Veronika finds Stepan and learns that Boris is indeed dead. However, the film ends on a hopeful note: Boris's friend Stepan makes a speech asserting that they will never forget those who died in the war, and that peace must be maintained.
Cinema of the Soviet Union
The cinema of the Soviet Union, not to be confused with "Cinema of Russia" despite Russian language films being predominant in both genres, includes several film contributions of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history,...
about World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage suffered to the Soviet psyche as a result of World War II (known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War
Great Patriotic War (term)
The term Great Patriotic War , Velíkaya Otéchestvennaya voyná,) is used in Russia and some other states of the former Soviet Union to describe the portion of World War II from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945, against Nazi Germany and its allies in the many fronts of Soviet-German war.-History:The term...
). It was directed at Mosfilm
Mosfilm
Mosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...
by the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov born Mikheil Kalatozishvili was a Georgian/Russian film director. Born in Tiflis , he studied economics before starting his film career as an actor and later cinematographer....
in 1957 and stars Aleksey Batalov
Aleksey Batalov
Aleksey Vladimirovich Batalov is a Soviet and Russian actor who has been acclaimed for his portrayal of noble and positive characters. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1976 and a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1989.-Biography:...
and Tatiana Samoilova. It won the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival
1958 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Marcel Achard * Tomiko Asabuki *Bernard Buffet *Jean De Baroncelli *Helmut Käutner *Dudley Leslie *Madeleine Robinson *Ladislao Vajda *Charles Vidor...
, the only Soviet film to win that award, although The Turning Point (1946) was one of eleven films awarded that year's Grand Prix, the predecessor of the Palme d'Or.
Synopsis
Fyodor Ivanovich is a doctor who lives with his son, Boris; his daughter, Irina; his mother; and his nephew, Mark. The film centers on Boris's girlfriend, Veronika, during World War II.The character of Veronica represents Soviet women in the context of post-Russian Soviet War.The call to war sounds, and the country responds with great patriotic fervor. Boris volunteers to defend his homeland from the attackers, much to Veronika's sadness. He is killed in a swamp, while saving the life of a fellow soldier. However, he is listed as missing in action; neither Veronika nor his family learn that he has been killed.
The German blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
then begins; people take refuge in the subway system underneath the city. During one attack, Veronika's parents refuse to leave their apartment; when Veronika returns, she finds that the building has been bombed. The entire apartment is gone and there is no sign of her parents. Fyodor Ivanovich invites Veronika to live with his family. Mark, who has been pursuing Veronika, is put in charge of keeping her company to lift her spirits. He is obviously in love with her, but she continually rejects him, waiting for Boris to return. However, during one bombing raid Veronika refuses to go down to the shelter and is left alone with Mark. This scene is unclear, but it appears that Mark rapes Veronika. She is then shamed into marrying him, and the rest of the family believes that she has betrayed Boris.
The family is relocated with many other Russians further East to escape the German offensive. They live in a temporary community where Fyodor Ivanovich, Irina, and Veronika work in a military hospital. Mark spends his time partying and playing music; he and Veronika are both clearly unhappy in their marriage. One of the soldiers in the hospital becomes hysterical when he receives a letter saying that his girlfriend has left him; Fyodor Ivanovich admonishes the soldier to forget about her, since women who cannot wait for their men to return are not worth grieving. Veronika overhears the speech and becomes very upset, since she appears to be such a woman.
Fyodor Ivanovich discovers that Mark's deferral from conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
was not because he was considered too talented to be drafted, as he has claimed, but because he bribed an official in Fyodor Ivanovich's name. Fyodor Ivanovich suddenly realizes that Mark has betrayed not only Russia, but the family as well, and has taken advantage of Veronika. Fyodor Ivanovich confronts Mark and kicks him out of the house, while Veronika is invited to stay and is forgiven by the family for "betraying" Boris.
The man that Boris died trying to save comes in search of Boris's family to tell them the news. When Veronika finds out, she refuses to believe it, saying that Boris's friend Stepan, who volunteered with Boris, will know what happened to him. At the end of the war, when the soldiers return in a victory parade, Veronika finds Stepan and learns that Boris is indeed dead. However, the film ends on a hopeful note: Boris's friend Stepan makes a speech asserting that they will never forget those who died in the war, and that peace must be maintained.
Reception and Influence
As film scholar Josephine Woll observes, the protagonist Veronika was instrumental in shaping the post-Stalinist Soviet movies by heralding more complicated, multi-dimensional celluloid heroines. It was not only Soviet audiences that accepted and sympathized with Veronika‘s story. The lead actress of Cranes, the beautiful Tat‘iana Samoilova, who was frequently identified with her role, took Europe by storm. Following the film's victory at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958, where it earned the event‘s prestigious Grand Prize, the world celebrated the film‘s main protagonist. Woll notes that the French Liberation commentator, for example, approvingly contrasted Samoilova‘s purity and authenticity with that Western female icon, Brigitte Bardot. Samoilova even remembered receiving a watch from her East German fans during a festival there; the gift featured the inscription: "Finally we see on the Soviet screen a face, not a mask."Cast
- Tatyana Samojlova as Veronika
- Aleksey BatalovAleksey BatalovAleksey Vladimirovich Batalov is a Soviet and Russian actor who has been acclaimed for his portrayal of noble and positive characters. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1976 and a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1989.-Biography:...
as Boris - Vasili MerkuryevVasili Merkuryev-Selected filmography:* The Return of Maxim * Professor Mamlock * The Vyborg Side * The Great Glinka * The Vow * The Battle of Stalingrad * True Friends * Twelfth Night...
as Fyodor Ivanovich - Aleksandr Shvorin as Mark
- Svetlana Kharitonova as Irina
- Konstantin Nikitin as Volodya
- Valentin ZubkovValentin ZubkovValentin Ivanovich Zubkov was a Soviet film actor.Valentin Ivanovich Zubkov was born in Peschanoye Settlement of Ryazan Province. He finished Armavir Military Aviation School and served as a pilot at frontlines of the German-Soviet War....
as Stepan - Antonina Bogdanova as Grandmother
- Boris Kokovkin as Tyernov
- Yekaterina Kupriyanova as Anna Mikhajlovna