Running Time: 97 minutes
Directed By: Mikheil Kalatozishvili
Written By: Mikheil Kalatozishvili
Main Cast: Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev, Aleksandr Shvorin, Svetlana Kharitonova
LOVE, WAR AND THE FLYING CRANES
"That's what love is my dear: a harmless mental illness."
As I write this, I'm in the middle of a six day stretch at work and am dog tired, so please forgive me if my review suffers because of that. Finished "The Cranes Are Flying" yesterday and while it was good, I'll tell you now that, like four movies already this season, it won't be getting a '10'.
"The Cranes Are Flying" is a fairly simple, cookie cutter love story about Veronica (Samojlova) and Boris (Batalov), two young lovers smitten with one another. The film starts out with some basic lovey-dovey scenes, establishing the relationship. Soon, however, war is declared and Boris, a very patriotic member of the Soviet Union, volunteers for duty and is told he'll be sent to the front. Veronica is, at first, furious that Boris volunteered, hoping that he'd be able to dodge the war and stay with her. The day that Boris is to leave, which is also Veronica's birthday, she fails to show up on time and misses seeing him before he goes. He leaves her a birthday present - a squirrel (his pet name for her) and heads off. Veronica goes to see him off, but can't find him in the crowd and he leaves without saying proper goodbyes. The following weeks and months are difficult for Veronica, especially after the death of her parents, during an air raid. She moves in with Boris' parents and his cousin Mark (Shvorin) and during an air raid, Mark rapes her. Feeling emotionally strained and depressed, Veronica eventually gives into Mark's profession's of love and marries him, but never forgets Boris.
SPOILER ALERT!
Certainly not a bad film, not in the slightest, but, in this reviewers opinion, not a particularly must see one either. As cited in THE BOOK, the real treat in "The Cranes Are Flying" is the sometimes (most of the time) breathtaking cinematography. It's truly amazing when a really talented man sits behind the camera and creates art using only the colors black and white. This film is the reason to treasure and admire black & white photography. The leads are also very well acted, especially Tatyana Samojlova who does a superb job bringing emotion to Veronica. I liked Aleksey Batalov too, but unfortunately he wasn't in the picture near as much as Tatyana and my time to admire his skill was shortened. It seemed to me, however, that the film missed a few beats plot-wise. I can't put my finger on it, but everything just went off so predictably that I kept expecting to be surprised by something, but that moment never came. It's not that the lack of surprises is a bad thing, it's just that the film seemed to be building to a moment that never came. Am I disappointed in the paths that the characters lives took? Perhaps and perhaps that's why I was ultimately disappointed by the picture. However, the film stayed true to life, reminding us that happy ending are not always imminent and sometimes - a lot of times, life can disappoint. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "must see" or anything, but a mild recommendation is certainly not out of the question and I think a lot of people are really going to love this one.
RATING: 6.5/10 Just missed out on reaching a '7' and being put into a whole other level of film, but still really good and nothing to really get upset about. Don't expect anymore reviews until, at least, Tuesday night...and then I'm on VACATION, so expect the reviews to start rolling for at least a week.
MOVIES WATCHED: 612
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 389
February 10, 2013 7:08pm
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