The few Russian movie's that I've seen so far have all been devoid of emotion. The Cranes are Flying represents a great contrast between two worlds - the world free of emotion (battlefield) and the world full of emotion that actually stem from the emotionless one (shelter).
Though the story deserves a post in it's own right, I wanted to comment on the actual movie. The production feels both ridiculously bad and ridiculously good. The angular shots, close-ups of running feet and tortured faces, and the collage-like put together shots are very reminiscent of silent movies. The narration style is highly impressionistic. It's more than a movie, it's a piece of art. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I am certain every self-appreciating new age hipster would appreciate this vintage style.
I would also like to commend the minimalistic design they used or propaganda. The cranes masquerade as planes, but are not entirely morphed into them yet, so the viewer has a clear knowledge of their intention, but can still see that they are in fact what they are - cranes. I thought the design was ingenious.
Ooh, that's a cool poster! The cranes morphing into planes is a really neat point.
ReplyDeleteCan you elaborate, though, on what you mean by the production looking "ridiculously bad and ridiculously good"?