The Cranes Are Flying
1957 · Movie · 97 min
★ 7.9(468)unSUB Rating
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.
Where to watch
Streaming on The Criterion Channel.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- Летят журавли
- Years
- 1957
- Release date
- 1957-10-12
- Language
- Russian
- Runtime
- 97 min
- TMDB rating (input)
- 7.9/10 (468 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
Tatyana Samoylova
as Veronika
Aleksey Batalov
as Boris
Vasili Merkuryev
as Fyodor Ivanovich
Aleksandr Shvorin
as Mark
Svetlana Kharitonova
as Irina
Konstantin Kadochnikov
as Volodya
Valentin Zubkov
as Stepan
Antonina Bogdanova
as Grandmother
Boris Kokovkin
as Chernov
Ekaterina Kupriyanova
as Anna Mikhaylovna
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov