Thoughts from the committee
To make a nuanced film about war in Stalin’s Russia was nearly impossible; it was not until after Stalin’s death that Mikhail Kalatozov was able to produce The Cranes Are Flying. Rather than the stiffly patriotic depictions of troops and trenches, Kalatozov instead focuses on the home front. In particular, his story is interested in the experiences of Veronika (Tatiana Samoilova), after her lover Boris (Aleksey Batalov) goes to war.
Samoilova’s performance is inarguably the core of the film, with the actor’s subtlety on full display as Veronika moves from naive romance to steely determination. Veronika is forced to make several unhappy decisions in order to achieve stability for herself – a pointed commentary on the carnage that war wreaks, even on ordinary citizens. Despite this, the film remains a melodrama, without tipping into unbearable bleakness.
The Cranes Are Flying would not be nearly as memorable were it not for the stunning cinematography of Sergey Urusevsky. The camera is almost never static, constantly shifting and reframing things in ways that completely change the emotional tone of a scene. At times, the film resembles German Expressionism in the degree to which it outwardly displays Veronika’s inner turmoil. This unceasing energy is one of many reasons why the film received the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
“Today’s viewers can still recapture the sensation that The Cranes Are Flying was said to evoke in those who saw it when it was new: that of a fresh wind sweeping through a musty house.” – Chris Fujuwara, Criterion