#399: The Cranes Are Flying

nb5drdn9cuabbroim8ektni6xtb#399 – The Cranes Are Flying, (Летят журавли), 1957, Mikhail Kalatozov
ru

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.

#420: I Am Cuba

s8xqgdpudbkfigfhfdu0edw9bkq#420 – I Am Cuba, (Soy Cuba), 1964, Mikhail Kalatozov
curu

An unabashed exercise in cinema stylistics, I Am Cuba is pro-Castro/anti-Batista rhetoric dressed up in the finest clothes. The film’s four dramatic stories take place in the final days of the Batista regime; the first two illustrate the ills that led to the revolution, the third and fourth the call to arms which cut across social and economic lines.