The Cranes Are Flying (Criterion Collection)

With the opening of hostilities with Nazi Germany, Veronika (Tatyana Samojlova) sadly watched her fiancé--doctor’s son Boris (Alexi Batalov)--go off to fight. With no news about his fate, and forced to relocate eastward with his family, she must also deal with the advances of his shiftless, draft-dodging cousin (Aleksandr Shvorin). Mikhail Kalatozov’s moving and acclaimed drama also stars Vasili Merkuryev, Svetlana Kharitonova, Valentin Zubkov. 91 min. Standard; Soundtrack: Russian Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; bonus documentary "Hurricane Kalatozov" (2009); featurettes. In Russian with English subtitles.