The Cranes Are Flying Research Papers

During the thaw under Khrushchev, censorship of the arts relaxed. The film The Cranes Are Flying is a result of this thaw. It explored Soviet home life during World War II—a topic that had been highly ‘Stalinized’ previously. Unlike the earlier propaganda-like films under Stalin, The Cranes Are Flying showed a more realistic view of what the people faced. Out of all the characters, Veronika is shown to have suffered the most. Despite the trauma she experienced, Veronika remains a good person and the hero of the story.
In the beginning, Veronika is in a devoted and loving relationship with Boris. Boris patriotically volunteers to fight in the war. Veronika misses her chance to say goodbye and is clearly distressed by this. Boris’s departure
is saddening for Veronika as she continues to wait for letters from him. The war worsens on the home front as Veronika is shown during an air raid. The worry she feels for Boris combines with the stress from being in an active and dangerous area. This danger manifests in a personal way when Veronika returns home to find nothing left. Both her home and her family are completely gone—a clock is left in the wreckage. This clock was also shown the last time Veronika and Boris saw each other. The loud ticking of the clock can reflect her distress in both scenarios.
After the loss of her parents, Boris’s father, Fyodor Ivanovich, allows the distraught Veronika to stay with them.
In the next air raid scene, Veronika refuses to go to a shelter. Veronika is emotionally fragile—Mark senses this and takes advantage of her. He tells her that he loves her, and it is heavily implied that he raped her. He may love the idea of her, but he does not truly love or care for her. Mark doesn’t truly know her like Boris did. Boris treated her kindly and with love, while Mark is more concerned with owning and controlling her. This trauma further broke Veronika’s spirit and shamed her. As Mark tells the family that the two would marry, Veronika looks as though she is dissociated from the situation. She does not speak or show emotion to anyone. The rest of the family is upset by the perceived slight to Boris. They could have refused to allow the marriage to proceed, but instead blame Veronika for being unfaithful. This marriage is unhappy for Veronika. The whole family unit is sent to live communally with other families as the war continues. Veronika continues to help the war effort by working with the soldiers in the hospital. One soldier becomes upset after receiving news that his girlfriend was unfaithful while he was at war. As Veronika listens, Fyodor tells the soldier “She's not worth a dime if she gave up a handsome soldier like this, a real hero for a puny draft-dodger! ... And whatever she's got, she deserves it! … Killing her would be too good
for her kind. … For women like that, no honorable man can have anything but contempt!” These cruel words are obviously heartbreaking to Veronika, because she was forced into a similar situation.
These combined traumas culminated into a suicide attempt. Veronika ultimately does not follow through, but instead saves a small child. She brings the child, named Boris, home with her. When she reaches home, she looks for her stuffed squirrel, the last gift Boris ever gave her, and finds it gone. Irina tells her Mark took it—both Irina and Mark likely knew that the squirrel was important to her. Mark cruelly took it and tried to give it away to another woman, once again showing he did not love Veronika. Irina allowed him to take it and covered for him. Irina possibly did this due to her resentment towards Veronika. She had said that she could never forgive Veronika for what she did to Boris, but showed no anger towards Mark for doing the exact same thing. Eventually, Veronika learns that Mark is cheating on her, another devastating blow.
Following this revelation, Veronika finds the squirrel and a note from Boris.
Fyodor also reveals the truth about Mark. Earlier in the movie, Mark told Veronika that the talented people would not be sent to war. This sounds entitled—his ability to play the piano means he won’t do his duty like everyone else. Mark was actually paying to avoid the war. This would be very hard for Veronika to hear, because the man she loved had volunteered to fight while Mark had lied and paid to avoid it. Veronika then learns from Harmonica Guy that Boris was killed—he didn’t realize who he was talking to and had shared the news rather insensitively. She still has hope that Boris could be alive, until she speaks with Stepan when the war is over. Even though she is heartbroken and devastated by the news, she still shares all her flowers with the people. Veronika is patriotic and supports and cares for her fellow
Russians. In conclusion, Veronika remains strong despite the anguish she faced throughout the film. She helps soldiers in the hospital, saves a child and takes them into her home as if he was hers, and supports and cares for her fellow Russians as they celebrate the end of the war. Veronika should eventually marry Harmonica Guy and they can raise Boris II together. Mark should be exiled to Siberia.