The Cranes Are Flying

The Cranes Are Flying (, translit. Letyat zhuravli) is a 1957 Soviet film about the Second World War. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage done to the Soviet psyche as a result of war, which was known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War. The film was directed at Mosfilm by the Georgian-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov in 1957 and starred Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. Adapted by Viktor Rozov from his play, the film won the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, the only Soviet film to win that award (In 1946, The Turning Point was one of eleven films awarded the Grand Prix, the predecessor of the Palme d'Or.) Plot In Moscow, on June 22, 1941, Veronika and her boyfriend Boris watch cranes fly over the city as the sun rises and then sneak back into their families' apartments. Hours later, Boris’s cousin Mark wakes him with news that the Germans have invaded. Veronika soon learns that Boris volunteered for the army. Boris asks his grandmother to give Veronika her birthday gift, a stuffed squirrel toy ("squirrel" is Boris's pet name for Veronika) into which he slides a love note. Veronika arrives too late to see Boris at his apartment, but his grandmother gives Veronika the stuffed squirrel. Veronika searches for Boris at the assembly station but misses finding him there too, as he marches off to war.