Quand passent les cigognes

Sometimes you see a film and it knocks you for six. Sometimes those films are unknown to most people. The Cranes Are Flying is one of those films. Made in Soviet Russia in 1957, the films starts with the romance of Veronika and Boris, a romance that is rudely interrupted when he volunteers to go to the front during WWII. After the lose of her own family, Boris' family invite her to live with them, only for his brother who found exemption from fighting 'forcing' her into marriage. The family are forced to move to Siberia to escape the onslaught of the Germans and it is here Veronika learns the fate of her real love.

The film's main plot, the love story, is tragic, but the film as a whole is as tragic in it's depiction of war and the immense effect it has on people. Through fine performances the cast bring another episode of war to life, with drama, joy, despair and hope. Director Mikhail Kalatozov achieves something else, a masterpiece of film making. The film contains some of the most remarkable camera work you'll likely to see in a pre-CGI film world. One of the early scenes where Boris runs up flights of stairs as the camera pans and follows in one take is a hint of things to come. That scene is mirrored when Veronika returns to her family apartment to find it bombed and runs up the same stairwell, that hangs among the ruins and fire. There are fine tracking shots, such as where Veronica runs along the dispatch area or when she runs along the train track. Another stand out scene is where Veronica is 'trapped' by the brother during an air raid, the noise loud, the camera angles obscure, the lighting jarred and ominous, it's a powerful moment, among many throughout the film.

The audience learns the fate of Boris way before Veronica, who tries to hang onto hope that he will return. Her love grows ever more when she discovers the note he left in the toy squirrel. The powerful end scenes, when the truth is revealed are stunningly effective, full of emotion and the horror of what war can create in people.

War films are often too busy concentrating on the battles itself, but occasionally a film will explore the real battle, the one that humanity has to endure on a personal level.

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