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Letyat zhuravli (1957)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
1/08, 11/19
1/08:
Letyat zhuravli, which is translated as The Cranes Are Flying, elicits a mixed bag of feelings from me.
From a technical standpoint, it's beautiful, raw, and uninhibited. On the other hand, the story is confusing,
and the pace can be tediously slow at times. When it moves along, the film is alive, and then it slows
down, creating a lull. It'll be like this in a back-and-forth manner which is a constant problem throughout.
The acting isn't bad. Thanks to the lovely black-and-white cinematography, the beautiful Tatiana Samoilova, whose
acting career was largely ruined by the Soviet Union's restrictions on her life, steals the show whenever she
appears. A letdown is the weak chemistry between her and Aleksey Batalov's characters. It undermines the film as a
whole, but the ending, how it's done, is enough for me to overlook the problem. I just need to accept the fact that they
probably didn't know each other well enough.
All in all, The Cranes Are Flying is technically beautiful, and I need to see it again later.
11/19:
There's no doubt that Russia had its own Audrey Hepburn, and her name was Tatiana Samoilova.
Her most famous performance is given in Letyat zhuravli, otherwise known as The Cranes Are Flying. Highly
romantic, it's one of the prettiest pictures made with unique shots. Whenever Tatiana appears, she enhances the visually
striking black-and-white cinematography.
My opinion is better this time around by seeing it as a complete film about a young couple in love who are torn apart
forever by war after not getting the chance to say a final goodbye to each other. Now, that's sad.
All in all, The Cranes Are Flying showcases what the power of cinematography can do for a film.