The Cranes are Flying

When I finished watching this film, I had to go up to the library counter to double check its release date..1957. That too in Soviet Union. It is so well made that I find it unbelievable for it to belong to that time. Cranes are Flying is probably one of the best films I have watched. It is set in World War II period and captures the sentiment of regular soviet people amidst conscription, German air raids, etc. They are ideologically indifferent and detached from the high powered politics yet make unbearable sacrifices in the personal realm. This movie is beautifully made, and feels real – no overdoing of gross and violent war scenes, no pretensions or gratuitous actions that trap box office cinemas into mediocrity. I wonder if many such movies emerged after Stalin died.. perhaps this period of the thaw was the formative period of Russian cinema, which during Stalin’s time was little else than a propaganda vehicle. The biggest indication of its redemptive or transformative symbol is the humanistic nature of the film – it is sad love story of two war torn individuals, not some Stalinist fetish for tractors or modern mechanization! In fact the movie hadn’t even encroached on the popular hatred of Germany.
After Kruschev shocked congress with his 1956 speech, life in USSR began to change (mostly for the better).The Soviet society was experiencing a cultural revolution – unmasking of previous misdeeds, relaxation of norms, and relative freedom of artistic expression. Films are not merely tools of communist party propaganda any longer.. In such a scenario, Cranes are Flying is bold experiment. It is a step into the future.The best part was the ending scene which has a strong political message (Stepan’s speech), and unmistakable optimism that resurfaces from total loss, like a resurrection from the choas and sorrow of war. Ironical because I was close to writing it off as another sad ending – a trait of numerous Russian films.This is the only scene after the first 15 mins of the film do I find Veronica smiling! Click here for the ending scene in the film.

Lastly, Cinematography was incredible and the film consistently kept me in anticipation (a feat not commonly accomplished by old style Black and White cinema). I am sure to watch more of Kalatozov films in the future, in fact here’s my wishlist – True Friends, Unsent Letter, I am Cuba.

The Cranes are Flying

When I finished watching this film, I had to go up to the library counter to double check its release date..1957. That too in Soviet Union. It is so well made that I find it unbelievable for it to belong to that time. Cranes are Flying is probably one of the best films I have watched. It is set in World War II period and captures the sentiment of regular soviet people amidst conscription, German air raids, etc. They are ideologically indifferent and detached from the high powered politics yet make unbearable sacrifices in the personal realm. This movie is beautifully made, and feels real – no overdoing of gross and violent war scenes, no pretensions or gratuitous actions that trap box office cinemas into mediocrity. I wonder if many such movies emerged after Stalin died.. perhaps this period of the thaw was the formative period of Russian cinema, which during Stalin’s time was little else than a propaganda vehicle. The biggest indication of its redemptive or transformative symbol is the humanistic nature of the film – it is sad love story of two war torn individuals, not some Stalinist fetish for tractors or modern mechanization! In fact the movie hadn’t even encroached on the popular hatred of Germany.
After Kruschev shocked congress with his 1956 speech, life in USSR began to change (mostly for the better).The Soviet society was experiencing a cultural revolution – unmasking of previous misdeeds, relaxation of norms, and relative freedom of artistic expression. Films are not merely tools of communist party propaganda any longer.. In such a scenario, Cranes are Flying is bold experiment. It is a step into the future.The best part was the ending scene which has a strong political message (Stepan’s speech), and unmistakable optimism that resurfaces from total loss, like a resurrection from the choas and sorrow of war. Ironical because I was close to writing it off as another sad ending – a trait of numerous Russian films.This is the only scene after the first 15 mins of the film do I find Veronica smiling! Click here for the ending scene in the film.

Lastly, Cinematography was incredible and the film consistently kept me in anticipation (a feat not commonly accomplished by old style Black and White cinema). I am sure to watch more of Kalatozov films in the future, in fact here’s my wishlist – True Friends, Unsent Letter, I am Cuba.

Defining Genocide in Ukranian context

Much contention surrounds the issue of Ukrainian man-made famine around 1930s resulting from the soviet requisition of grains as a Stalinist policy. The breadbasket of Soviet Union quickly turned into a mass cemetery of nearly 3-7million people (official records are not open to public). Today several countries around the world recognize it as genocide upon Ukraine’s plea, but Russia does not follow suit.

“The Holodomor, which means death inflicted by hunger, can be considered one of the most successful genocidal policies pursued by Stalin and the Soviet leadership.. Aside from achieving Stalin’s genocidal goals, the Holodomor also helped achieve some of his modernization ambitions.” there’s more to read here

Russia does not call it genocide because it was not a famine that was targeted on ethnic lines, i.e. targeting Ukrainians due to their nationality, but in accordance of ‘state policy’ which is collectivization.
How do you officially define genocide?
Wikipedia defines Genocide – deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.

The above definition shines light on certain less popular views-
“Alexander Solzhenitsyn..opined..that Holodomor was no different from the Russian famine of 1921 as both were caused by the ruthless robbery of peasants by Bolshevik grain procurements..The writer cautions that the genocidal claim has its chances to be accepted by the West due to the general western ignorance of Russian and Ukrainian history.”
“..the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Zina Kalay-Klaitman, stated that Israel considers only destructions by ethnicity to be genocide. Thus, Israel could not recognize Holodomor as genocide.” He follows to state that Isreal nevertheless considers Holodmor a great catastrophe to mankind.

Does labeling the event ‘Genocide’ mollify the tragedy of Ukraine? definitely not.. Solzhenitsyn makes an insightful statement in that this catastrophe is a result of state policy – the grain requisition, precedence of state over individual, grand experiment of collectivization that led to epic failure. If this is a genocide, so is the event of death of millions of Russians in former USSR that have been sent to concentration camps during Stalinist regime. Genocide or not, both are devastating and ought to be recognized as extreme milestones of cruelty witnessed by humanity..

Defining Genocide in Ukranian context

Much contention surrounds the issue of Ukrainian man-made famine around 1930s resulting from the soviet requisition of grains as a Stalinist policy. The breadbasket of Soviet Union quickly turned into a mass cemetery of nearly 3-7million people (official records are not open to public). Today several countries around the world recognize it as genocide upon Ukraine’s plea, but Russia does not follow suit.

“The Holodomor, which means death inflicted by hunger, can be considered one of the most successful genocidal policies pursued by Stalin and the Soviet leadership.. Aside from achieving Stalin’s genocidal goals, the Holodomor also helped achieve some of his modernization ambitions.” there’s more to read here

Russia does not call it genocide because it was not a famine that was targeted on ethnic lines, i.e. targeting Ukrainians due to their nationality, but in accordance of ‘state policy’ which is collectivization.
How do you officially define genocide?
Wikipedia defines Genocide – deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.

The above definition shines light on certain less popular views-
“Alexander Solzhenitsyn..opined..that Holodomor was no different from the Russian famine of 1921 as both were caused by the ruthless robbery of peasants by Bolshevik grain procurements..The writer cautions that the genocidal claim has its chances to be accepted by the West due to the general western ignorance of Russian and Ukrainian history.”
“..the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Zina Kalay-Klaitman, stated that Israel considers only destructions by ethnicity to be genocide. Thus, Israel could not recognize Holodomor as genocide.” He follows to state that Isreal nevertheless considers Holodmor a great catastrophe to mankind.

Does labeling the event ‘Genocide’ mollify the tragedy of Ukraine? definitely not.. Solzhenitsyn makes an insightful statement in that this catastrophe is a result of state policy – the grain requisition, precedence of state over individual, grand experiment of collectivization that led to epic failure. If this is a genocide, so is the event of death of millions of Russians in former USSR that have been sent to concentration camps during Stalinist regime. Genocide or not, both are devastating and ought to be recognized as extreme milestones of cruelty witnessed by humanity..