The Cranes Are Flying (1957)

The Cranes Are Flying may be nearing 70 years old but it still looks majestic and feels fresh, due to a mixture of stunning tracking shots, brilliant special effects, realistic script and bleak outlook that nevertheless avoids drama - especially impressive for a Soviet WWII film that came out barely a decade after the war finished. The ending is also a knockout, particularly in 2025.

Veronika and Boris are young lovers who open the movie together, watching the cranes flying over their home city of Moscow. But when the Germans invade, he's called up to the army while she's left to try and keep things running at home. Director Mikhail Kalatozov was rightfully lauded for this film, which remains the only Soviet movie to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

The trailer gives a hint of what's there (actually, much more than a hint - I'd just have a peek if I were you), even if it is somewhat let down by the overbearing score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGsXmwPj0TA

Tickets are available here, I'm in C5. We can meet outside afterwards and head somewhere for a drink nearby.