Ballad of a Soldier

Ballad of a Soldier
Ballad of a Soldier
Directed by	Grigori Chukhrai
Written by	Valentin Yezhov; Grigori Chukhrai
Produced by	M. Chernova
Starring	Vladimir Ivashov; Zhanna Prokhorenko
Cinematography	Vladimir Nikolayev; Era Savelyeva
Edited by	Mariya Timofeyeva
Music by	Mikhail Ziv
Distributed by	Union Film Distributors Inc. (USA)
Release dates	1 December, 1959; 26 December, 1960
Running time	89 min.
Language	Russian

Ballad of a Soldier, ([Баллада о солдате] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help), transliteration: Ballada o soldate) is an award-winning 1959 Soviet film drama set in World War II. The film was directed by Grigori Chukhrai and produced at Mosfilm.

Synopsis

Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a war film: it 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. The film received considerable praise for both its technical craft and its strong, yet subtle story. Viewed from the earnestness and unabashed youthfulness of the protagonist, "Ballad of a Soldier" distanced itself from the fierce propaganda which bound other films before it. American critics, particularly, hailed it as an instant classic, with the New York Times's own Bosley Crowther offering it iconic status.^[1]