The Cranes Are Flying

Veronika and Boris come together in Moscow shortly before World War II. Walking along the river, they watch cranes fly overhead, and promise to rendezvous before Boris leaves to fight. Boris misses the meeting and is off to the front lines, while Veronika waits patiently, sending letters faithfully. After her house is bombed, Veronika moves in with Boris' family, into the company of a cousin with his own intentions.

Cast

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

Reviews

talisencrw

This was an equally outstanding and heartbreaking film. I haven't watched a lot of Soviet cinema, but from what I have seen thus far, it's terrific. It makes me want to investigate their oeuvre ever more diligently. Essential if you're interested either in Soviet films or war films in general, from ...

badelf

Everything in this movie is technically perfect. In spite of that, the idea that a woman must pick the best man available really dates this movie for me....

CinemaSerf

Just as "Veronika" (Tatyana Samoylova) and her boyfriend "Boris" (Aleksey Batalov) are arranging a rendezvous by the river, someone only goes and starts a war! That puts a major spanner in the works for this loving couple as he promptly volunteers for the Soviet army to repel the encroaching Nazi ar...

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