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The Cranes Are Flying

1957 · Movie · 97 min · ★ 7.9 · 86% critics

DramaRomanceWar

On the eve of World War II in Moscow, a young couple’s plans are shattered when he is sent to the front and she is left behind, clinging to letters and hope. After a bombing destroys her home, she moves in with his family, where pressure, gossip, and unwanted attention complicate her fight to endure.

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Details
Original title
Летят журавли
Years
1957
Release date
1957-10-12
Language
Russian
Runtime
97 min
Critic score
86/100
TMDB rating
7.9/10 (452 votes)
About

You’ll likely enjoy this if you want an intense, human wartime romance focused on those left at home, with a sweeping, poetic feel like Ballad of a Soldier; Not for you if you dislike heavy melodrama or bleak emotional turmoil.

Pros: heartbreaking wartime perspective; powerful emotional lead; striking, memorable imagery | Cons: dated gender attitudes; melodrama feels contrived; storytelling can confuse

Themes

  • world war ii
  • siege
  • lovers
  • marriage of convenience
  • battlefield
  • wounded
  • black and white
  • couple
  • air raid
  • anti war
  • moscow, russia
  • loveless marriage
  • +4 more

Awards & recognition

  • Palme d'Or · 1958

Cast & crew

Directed by Mikheil Kalatozishvili