The Cranes are Flying

The Cranes Are Flying
Film poster
Directed by	Mikhail Kalatozov
Written by	Viktor Rozov (play & screenplay)
Starring	Tatyana Samojlova Aleksey Batalov Vasili Merkuryev, Aleksandr Shvorin
Music by	Moisey Vaynberg
Cinematography	Sergey Urusevsky
Edited by	Mariya Timofeyeva
Production company	Mosfilm
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	Autumn 1957 (USSR)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

The Cranes Are Flying (Russian: Летят журавли, translit. Letyat zhuravli) is a 1957 Soviet film about World War II. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage suffered to the Soviet psyche as a result of World War II (known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War). It was directed at Mosfilm by the Georgian-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov in 1957 and stars Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, the only Soviet film to win that award, although The Turning Point (1946) was one of eleven films awarded that year's Grand Prix, the predecessor of the Palme d'Or.

Fyodor Ivanovich is a doctor who lives with his son, Boris; his daughter, Irina; his mother; and his nephew, Mark. The film centers on Boris's girlfriend, Veronika, during World War II.The character of Veronica represents Soviet women in the context of the aftermath of the aforementioned war.

The call to war sounds, and the country responds with great patriotic fervor. Boris volunteers to defend his homeland from the attackers, much to Veronika's sadness. He is killed in a swamp, while saving the life of a fellow soldier. However, he is listed as missing in action; neither Veronika nor his family learn that he has been killed.

The German blitzkrieg then begins; people take refuge in the subway system underneath the city. During one attack, Veronika's parents refuse to leave their apartment; when Veronika returns, she finds that the building has been bombed. The entire apartment is gone and there is no sign of her parents. Fyodor Ivanovich invites Veronika to live with his family. Mark, who has been pursuing Veronika, is put in charge of keeping her company to lift her spirits. He is obviously in love with her, but she continually rejects him, waiting for Boris to return. However, during one bombing raid Veronika refuses to go down to the shelter and is left alone with Mark. This scene is unclear, but it appears that Mark rapes Veronika. She is then shamed into marrying him, and the rest of the family believes that she has betrayed Boris.