10 Gut-Wrenching Moments In War Films
2. The Cranes Are Flying - Boris' Last Breath
The 1956 WWII film The Cranes Are Flying is a personal film from the perspective of those left behind in the conflict by their loved ones. Set right before the height of conflict between the Third Reich and Soviet Union, the film follows a young couple in love named Boris and Veronika. One day, however, Boris receives a letter that he has been accepted to volunteer for the army.
Fighting in the front-lines, Boris and his partner come under fire that leaves his partner wounded. Lifting him up on his back, Boris saves their lives and the two escape into a nearby marsh. As he stands up to rest and trying to lift the spirits of his comrade, he's shot from the distance by a stray bullet.
His life flashes before his eyes in one of the greatest edited composite sequences in film. The visuals swirl and music swells tugging at our hearts as we experience in first-person Boris' life fading. Images overlap and play in slow motion like a specter looking outside-in at the life he knows he can never obtain. Images of his marriage, family, and bride celebrating alongside him as wind blows through Veronika's wedding veil and hair as if floating majestically underwater. He stares into the distance fading as he realizes he'll never be reunited with his family and love of his life.
The Cranes Are Flying is tragedy on a personal level, with the living carrying the pain of the dead with love unrealized as a painful reminder of being alive.