Farewell music Love. Young, fragile, not yet feathered. A gentle and strong feeling that does not ask permission to come, but bursts like a storm on the sea surface. In the difficult, dark years of the war, people have almost no opportunity to look around in search of the perfect couple – all thoughts are taken from the front. Meager lines on a rough sheet, and there are no pieces of life in them - the cursed funeral heralds another fallen life. Goodbye, childhood! Goodbye, dreams of the high! It is time to serve, it is time to fight, for the lost father, for the native land. Yesterday’s schoolboy Yura Nikitin did not have time to know the joys of love, but tasted the grief that pushed him to become a cadets of a military school. So dear to his eyes lieutenant epaulettes, but before fitting them waiting for the young man another war — with his own heart. It beats in the chest at the sight of modest Zoe, thoughtful, quiet, but so alive and understanding. Young people have a lot to say to each other, but there is almost no time.
“Eternally alive” was the name of the play by Viktor Rozov, according to which Mikhail Kalatozov staged the immortal film “Cranes Fly”. A cruel war easily breaks the strongest love, but is it the fault of lovers that it was in such a period that their feelings struck? In comparison with the Kalatosov Boris and Veronica, the heroes of Peter Todorovsky - Yura and Zoya look very young. In the cold winter, under the comic circumstances of dating, the guys felt the rhythm of each other's hearts. The dwelling of Zoe became a paradise hut for modest, shy people who until the last were afraid to say an extra word, so as not to accidentally lose the attention of a loved one. Polite friendship, dancing on Sundays, the agonizing wait for the next dismissal is not the story of the novel, but a picture of the feelings that they paint with invisible brushes. In the eyes of children read the depth and willingness to remain faithful all his life.
Yes, "Loyalty." In this name, Peter Todorovsky, together with Bulat Okudzhava, put a sacred meaning, which is not confined to the girl’s oath to wait for her beloved from the front. The true meaning of loyalty is conveyed by the character of Evgeny Evstigneev. The apartment in Zoya’s house, Captain Ivan Terentievich, looks like a strange man. His formidable appearance was a real shock for friends Yura and Seva. However, the unsociable military has something to teach future commanders, and this is not a training program. By his order, Ivan Terentyevich made the beautiful Yura fall in love with the girl Zoya, not his idea of her. The young man was comfortable in this house: heated, tea to drink, and even dance arranged. What happens when there's a war tomorrow? To prevent love from fading like a candle, people should learn to listen to each other’s thoughts. The captain lost his entire family, but grief did not break him because of his ability to be faithful to the moments when he was happy. They have long since passed, but they have preserved optimism, which is as important in war as a reliable weapon.
Long monologues, lively conversations are often replaced in this film with bravura melodies or dreary silence, as at the sight of a bombed-out train. The school quickly trained future commanders. It's only three months, and a whiskey-free lieutenant has to lead his company into attack. For many of these guys, the first attack was the last. That is why it is so important to appreciate life and its joys. There are many scenes of dances in Todorovsky’s painting, so much so that the military essence is no, no, but forgotten. It is touching to watch the awkwardness of young guys who probably want to give their girls their first kiss, but lack the determination. So is Yura Nikitin. He stares silently at his fellow soldiers cheering. There is no doubt that in these moments he thinks only of Zoe, but there is no fear or anxiety on his face. Yes, their love story was short-lived, which was replaced by the music of goodbye, but there is more life in a night walk alone with strong arms than on the front line. Yura dreams of being “eternally alive” as according to Viktor Rozov, but whatever fate awaits him on the battlefield, and he will always be true to his love.
Pictures of the life of future officers in the training unit are full of drama. Todorovsky recalls the scarcity of life of peaceful people and the severe need to give the last edge to the front. At the same time, do not notice complaints about fate, dreary laments or bitter tears. Understanding and empathy go hand in hand in Peter Efimovich’s film. Unpampered people rejoice in the little: a bag of sugar that has fallen through the kindness of a comrade to a crust of bread, and do not cease to believe that war is not for long. That naiveté is rewarding, because it is so sincere. Like the sincere unspoken feelings of Yura and Zoe. Beautiful love was born at a difficult time, but each of them felt needed by someone other than the Motherland. This is not blind faith, but true loyalty. People lived and fought for it. They shed blood and died for it. They waited and believed for her. A great feeling cannot be destroyed by a single shell, for it is immortal, like the souls of loving people.
7 out of 10