My Grading System

A+ = Masterpiece (I hold back on this one.) / A = Great. / A- = Really Good. / B+ = Good. / B = Decent (Serviceable). / B- = Flawed but okay (For those times there's something redeeming about the work). / C+ = Not very good (Skip it). C = Bad. / C- = Awful. / F = Complete Disaster (I hold back on this one too).

Note on Spoilers: I will try to avoid ruining a story by going into too much detail. But if I wish to include some revealing points to my analysis I will try to remember to add a separate spoiler paragraph.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Cranes are Flying (1957)

This is one of the best films I've seen (so far) made in the Soviet Union.  Veronika is a strong female character played by the beautiful and talented actress Tatiana Samoilova.  The man she loves, Boris, leaves to fight the Germans in WWII and as she waits for his return Boris' brother Mark pursues her to marry him instead.   There are so many brilliant cinematic moments to praise, from Veronika searching a bombed out apartment for her parents to a suffocating crowd shot that must have taken some careful choreography.  It's a pretty incredible film with many unexpected twists and turns.  Solid story telling and performances: it's well worth a viewing even for contemporary audiences.  Grade: A
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