Ballad of a Soldier
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Ballad of a Soldier, (Ballada o soldate) is a 1959 Soviet Union award-winning motion picture drama directed by Grigori Chukhrai that is set in World War II.
Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a "war story" but recounts, within the context of the turmoil of war, various kinds of love: the romantic love of a young couple, the committed love of a married couple, and a mother's love of her child. The film tells the story of a young soldier making his way through the countryside during the first few months of the war at a time when the Soviet Union seemed destined to fall to the powerful Nazi onslaught. Awarded a six-day pass for destroying two German tanks, Alyosha (Vladimir Ivashov) makes his way home to visit his mother. However, his journey changes when he hops a freight train and discovers a young girl stowed away in the railcar.
Production:
- Director: Grigori Chukhrai
- Producer: M. Chernova
- Screenplay: Grigori Chukhrai, Valentin Yezhov
- Cinematography: Vladimir Nikolayev, Era Savelyeva
- Film editing: Mariya Timofeyeva
- Music: Mikhail Ziv
Running time: 89 min
Primary cast:
- Vladimir Ivashov - Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov
- Zhanna Prokhorenko - Shura
- Antonina Maksimova - The mother
- Nikolai Kryuchkov - The general
- Yevgeni Urbansky - Vasya
- Elza Lezhdey - Vasya's wife
Awards:
- BAFTA Award for Best Picture, 1961
- Cannes Film Festival - Special jury prize
- San Francisco International Film Festival - winner, Golden Gate Award for Best Film
- San Francisco International Film Festival - winner, Golden Gate Award for Best Director - Grigori Chukhrai
- Nominated: Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - Grigori Chukhrai, Valentin Yezhov
