I
really enjoyed watching the first half of The Cranes Are Flying. I feel like
we’ve all seen so many WWII movies that I’m pretty desensitized to them, but
certain scenes really struck me as both very well-done and surprisingly moving.
I think my favorite scene so far was when Veronica realizes that her parents
were killed and runs up the stairs of her destroyed apartment building. I knew
exactly what was going to happen and in a way the action of the scene seems
pretty trite, but for some reason seeing the same staircase in ruins and a huge
gaping hole on the top floor where the apartment had been worked really well
for me.
I
think I just can’t get over how well filmed the movie is. And here’s the weird
thing: I honestly can’t think of a Hollywood parallel. So many American movies
made in the 50s address WWII, but I can’t name any that are set during WWII and
treat the subject so well. Casablanca is maybe the most famous movie set during
WWII, and while still set abroad it doesn’t do a whole lot to bring home the
terror of air raids and the destruction in Europe and Russia. Most of our
contemporaneous movies focus on the soldiers instead of the civilian aspect,
reflecting the general American experience.
So
while a lot of the movie really struck some chords with me, I should also say
that some shots seemed very outdated. During the second air raid when Veronica
and Mark have their big moment, the shots of his exaggerated facial expressions
kind of ruined the scene for me. In fact, it seemed ridiculous to a lot of
people, because quite a few of us laughed. But still, that scene was striking
like the first air raid scene, with the lighting and the music and the
shattered glass everywhere the emphasis was definitely on feelings of
vulnerability and sometimes-desperate resistance in the face of so much destruction.
I’m excited to see the rest of the movie, and to see if other emotions are
portrayed as effectively.
I think you make a really good point when noticing how most of American war movies focus on the soldiers instead of the civilian aspect, reflecting the general American experience. Hence such cold sounding and desantized expressions such as "collateral damage" are used nowdays to describe the loss of civilan lives, for example. I often talk about wars and suffering with my grandparents and relatives in Belgrade who survived NATO bombing of 1999 when 3,000 civilians, including many preschool age children or retirees in their 70s and 80s became "collateral damage." Many of them are "damaged goods" for the rest of their lives. I think that only people who experienced war destruction first hand are capable of conveying some of that raw emotion and experience in a uncontaminated, non-commercial way. The reason for lesser popularity of foreign artistic movies in America (European in general, for example) may be the inability of American public to identify with issues and experiences of other nations, especially those which are considered not so friendly to us. Two thumbs up for the movie!
ReplyDeleteI too really enjoyed the movie. I think the filmmakers did an excellent job of establishing the realities of war, but then moving beyond that aspect to really examine the impact on civilian life away from the frontlines.
ReplyDeleteEven if some of the scenes were outdated, the way they blended with the whole movie was great. I loved this movie and I think the actors were really expressive( even if a bit exaggerated at times).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the perspective presented in this film as well. The filmmakers did a fine job of portraying what life was like for civilians in war-torn Russia. The film also delivered a powerful antiwar message in its final, touching frames - a message that even fifty years later still has a powerful impact on the viewer.
ReplyDeleteI guess the film being black and white, not too well composed, lacking of special effects... wouldn't really be considered too great from today's perspective. Despite that though, I felt that the fact it was left free of all redundancy that distracts from most movies's points now-a-days, the movies portrayed exactly what it was supposed to. The point was clear, and the scenes weren't misleading. It was easy to follow and understand. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI too really enjoyed the movie, especially the scene with the stairs. I liked how certain details such as characters expressions, music and emotion played an important part of the movie...and I believe these small details makes this movie a unique art work. Like today the director uses love as a as a means of connecting with generation in any period of time.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that certain scenes were a bit too melodramatic for my taste, I thoroughly enjoyed the way the film was edited. The disconcerting combination of rapidly shifting images and sounds helped underscore the chaos characters were dealing with, while also giving the audience a first-person perspective on events, as when Mark was shot. On the whole, I thought the film was quite well done.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the scene with Veronika and Mark was somewhat melodramatic, but I also thought it was interesting in how disturbing yet also vague the scene was. We know that something sketchy is going on, but it is exactly that: sketchy. In a way, even though the scene is somewhat outdated, the intense framing of his and her faces expand the possibilities of what happened to extremes. It gave the feel of something intense without the explicit illustration of it.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this movie too! Veronica's story seems to capture the events and feelings that many young women went through during this time. At the same time, I didn't think the movie was predictable and it kept my attention the entire time. A lot of this had to do with how the movie was filmed. All of the scenes were so interesting and well done. Like Scott mentioned, I liked how the movie didn't focus so much on battle scenes but how the war effected families at home.
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