Winner of the Palme D’Or at Cannes in 1958, The Cranes are Flying is a magnificent tour de force; a visual marvel, a timeless tale of love in wartime and one of the most beautiful Russian films ever made. Moscow, 1941, Veronika (Tatiana Samoilova) and her boyfriend Boris (Aleksey Batalov) are madly in love when they hear news that the Germans are invading. Not long later, Boris volunteers to join the army to the dismay of his family and Veronika who linger in Moscow even as they are bombarded by air raids. While Boris endures the horrors of battle, Veronika survives in poverty, attempting to deflect the advances of Boris’ cousin Mark (Aleksandr Shvorin).

Director Mikhail Kalatozov and cinematographer Sergey Urusevsky only made four films together (this, I am Cuba, Letter Never Sent and The First Echelon) but each of them are lightning in a bottle – an extraordinary visual alchemy unmatched by anything before or since. Kinetic movement through bustling crowds, impeccable geometric framing, bold wide angles and richly layered superimposition – every frame of this film’s slim runtime is nothing short of breathtaking. Beyond visual excellence, The Cranes are Flying overflows with a bleeding heart and heavy pathos, most of which wells in the burning eyes of the fiercely talented Tatiana Samoilova in her staggering close-ups.