Krylya (1966)
51KKrylya (1966). 1h 25m
“This is a film directed by Larisa Shepitko–a woman whose life was cut very short at age 41. Because Russian movies are generally pretty tough to come by here in the US and because her career was short, there arenu0026#39;t a lot of opportunities to see her films.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Wingsu0026quot; is a very slow-moving film. This isnu0026#39;t necessarily a criticism–just a comment on the style. Instead of telling the viewer a lot about the lady who is the subject of the film, you slowly begin to learn more about her as she appears to be in the throes of an existential crisis.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNadezhda Petrovna is a woman in her early 40s, though she appears much older. She is the principal of a high school but seems vaguely dissatisfied with her job and personal life. Watching her, she seems rather sexless and emotionally stunted–and a bit lost. As the film unfolds, you learn through brief flashback scenes that she was a pilot during WWII and apparently since then, she has been in a bit of a fog. And, the only time she smiles or seems at ease is when in an airplane. Throughout nearly all of the film, Petrovna walks about in a rather tentative and slow-motion manner–and it may take some getting used to in order to enjoy the film. Perhaps u0026#39;enjoyu0026#39; is not the right word, as this isnu0026#39;t meant to be enjoyed but more appreciated for the character study that it is. Visually and especially musically, this is a very, very good film–very evocative but slow and with a rather vague ending that might disappoint many. I give it a 7, as it IS a quality production–but not one that Iu0026#39;d heartily endorse.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBy the way, while this is NOT a funny film and wonu0026#39;t elicit a lot of laughs, I did love seeing the school play where a few of the kids were dressed like nesting dolls (matryoshka dolls). This was pretty cute.”
