THE CRANES ARE FLYING (ЛЕТЯТ ЖУРАВЛИ)

THE CRANES ARE FLYING (ЛЕТЯТ ЖУРАВЛИ)
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov • Year: 1957
In Russian with English subtitles • DCP • 95 minutes
New 2K digital restoration

Comparable to Gone with the Wind of Soviet Russia—a sensation both at home and abroad that pointed the way toward a post-Stalin thaw in filmic expression—this shattering tale of wartime resilience from I Am Cuba director Mikhail Kalatozov follows the saga of Veronika (the radiant Tatiana Samoilova) who endures heartache and uncertainty when her lover is lost on the front lines of World War II. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, the movie is a marvel of dazzling black-and-white cinematography, mixing passages of exhilarating handheld camerawork with striking deep-focus compositions worthy of Henri Cartier-Bresson.