GENRE: WAR ROMANCE
DURATION: 89mins
DIRECTOR: GRIGORII CHUKHRAI
CAST: VLADIMIR IVASHOV, ZHANNA PROKHORENKO, ANTONINA MAKSIMOVA, NIKOLAI KRYUCHKOV

A Russian soldier, Alyosha Skvortsov, is granted a short leave to visit his mother after he single-handedly fends off two enemy tanks. As he journeys home, Alyosha encounters the devastation of war, witnesses the glimmers of hope among the people and falls in love. “With its poetic visual imagery, delightfully vivid characters and a deft mix of comedy, melodrama and romance Grigori Chukhrai’s Ballad of a Soldier is an unconventional meditation on the effects of war and a milestone in Russian cinema” (London Times). The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Film (1962) and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Story & Screenplay – written directly for the screen (1962).

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