BBBB
(out of 5)
Despite a few moments that over strain their desire to jerk tears out of you, this is a heartfelt film that packs more than a few emotional punches. A Russian World War II soldier scores a double header when he takes out two tanks in a freak act of bravery and is awarded with a decoration. Rather than accept it from his commanding officer, he insists that he would rather be given leave to go to his village and see his mother for a few days. The journey home ends up being fraught with distractions, diversions and even a few dangers, giving the soldier a close-up view of the war-scarred landscape of his nation, gradually eroding his naive existence. Magnificently shot, with a smooth, even pace and solid performances from the entire ensemble cast.
Directed by Grigoriy Chukhray
Screenplay by Grigoriy Chukhray, Valentin Ezhov
Cinematography by Vladimir Nikolayev, Era Savelyeva
Produced by M. Chenova
Music by Mikhail Ziv
Production Design by Boris Nemechek
Costume Design by Lyudmila Ryashentseva
Film Editing by Mariya Timofeeva
Film Festivals: Cannes 1960
Cast Tags: Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Antonina Maksimova, Elza Lezhdey, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Evgeniy Teterin, Evgeniy Urbanskiy, Gennadiy Yukhtin, Georgiy Yumatov, Leonid Chubarov, Lev Borisov, Marina Kremnyova, Mikhail Dadyko, Nikolay Kryuchkov, Nina Menshikova, Semyon Svashenko, Valentin Abramov, Valentin Bryleev, Valentina Markova, Valentina Telegina, Vladimir Ivashov, Vladimir Kashpur, Vladimir Pokrovskiy, Zhanna Prokhorenko
Academy Award Nomination
Best Writing (Story and Screenplay–written directly for the screen) (Valentin Yoshov, Grigori Chukhrai)
British Academy Award
Best Film From Any Source (tie)
Nomination
Best Foreign Actor (Vladimir Ivashov)
