Krylya

(1966) Wings/ Krylya (In Russian with English subtitles) DRAMA/ SOCIAL COMMENTARY

In order for this film to be appreciated, 'one' must first consider the time it was made which is in 1966 and the place it was based on which is a small part of Russia during Stalin's rule since the film is near plot less and does instead states a single person's experiences, in this case happens to be a woman by the name of Nadezhda exceptionally played by Maya Bulgakova, playing a civilized normal woman who's starting to adjust back to normal civilization again after fighting on the Russian's side as a war pilot. Directed by critically acclaimed director by the name of Larisa Shepitko who has directed 4 feature films, this one is the third before she died from an unfortunate automobile accident at the age of 41. Aforementioned earlier, the film starts with a middle aged woman whose just being hailed as a war hero on national TV for shooting 12 planes down and now that the war's over, she's then presented for a job as a principal at a school, and barely starting, she's soon mocked by a bunch of school kids who're just being school kids, resulting to one of them to be expelled. She then tries to eat out at one of the fancy restaurants since the job she has can make her afford it who used to always eat at home, but upon trying to go in, the manager then stops her from going inside and tells her that because she's a female, she can only come in anytime after 6 PM if escorted by a male. She also has a daughter whose just coming out of university and finds out that she's already married and upon meeting him, doesn't really approve of him and later finds out that she's not really in love with him either. Can this be the result of this long absence of not conversing with her frequently as a result of the war! If anyone who is reading this review think that is all there is, well all I can say is that this is only a few examples she had to endure out of a film that's only an hour and a half. The only kind of happiness was when the war was still going on and when she was still defending Russia's skies which the movie uses flashbacks between the past and the present time. The best way to describe it is that it's the Russian equivalent to "The Best Years Of Our Lives" and "Til The End Of Time" and "the Hurt Locker" to name a few...with the difference is that she's a female and at the time was treated as a second class citizen living in a repressed Russian society.

I'm a frequent but casual movie viewer and I really enjoyed this film. I often find films enjoyable that deal in (for me) obscure themes and genres. So I was intrigued that this was produced in the Soviet Union in 1966, which was solidly in the cold war era. Add to that actors I couldn't possibly recognize playing roles I don't typically see and spare but careful direction and production, and for me this was a winner. Uncontrived and unpretentious. The themes it dealt with were (IMO) surprisingly "unpatriotic/heroic" and not propagandist. There's a nice balance of pathos and irony and, contrary to at least one of the other reviews, the film is not humorless at all. If there is more Soviet-era cinema like this I would be interested to see it.

Nadezhda (aka Nadya), a school director and WWII heroine pilot is greatly respected by everybody. When she expels a boy from school for pushing a girl (she started it) Nadya gets to thinking. She had to make it in a man's world and has to continue being tough every day (deny her femininity, in a way) to get ahead. But is she maybe overdoing it a little? When offered a dance she declines although she would probably like to, and she denies that there is anything more than a platonic friendship between her and a male museum director. In what situations can she allow letting her guard down, allow being seen as a woman? She and her adopted daughter are more like good acquaintances, having completely different ideas about life and about being a woman. Where did she go wrong? She meets women who are quite happy with the modest roles assigned to them, apparently a lot happier than her. Is this the life she wanted?

All this thematically rich contemplating and melancholy of Nadya's happens without words. Mostly what we see is Nadya doing her job, administrating, exchanging words with people who recognize her, dealing with a young student who looks up to her, wandering around, going to bars, etc. She clearly isn't all stern and cold, she puts on a matryoshka doll costume to perform in a school play when a student suddenly drops out, she has a little personal woman-to-woman talk with a bar woman and then waltzes with her through the deserted bar, she gets giddy practically as soon as she smells alcohol and hence makes a fool of herself at her daughter's wedding celebration. In between all this we often see her thinking. What she really thinks about mostly is up to the viewer to interpret. One reviewer, for example, figured that Nadya's thoughts are purely those of nostalgia, for she is stuck in the glory days of her past while the present passes her by. Well, some of the things I think she thought about you can read in the first paragraph, so this review is thereby concluded.

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 aren't a lot of opportunities to see her films.

"Wings" is a very slow-moving film. This isn'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.

Nadezhda 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 'enjoy' is not the right word, as this isn'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 I'd heartily endorse.

By the way, while this is NOT a funny film and won'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.

An early film of famed Russian director Larisa Shepitko, "Wings" is the story of a Nadezhda (Mayya Bulgakova), a former pilot considered a hero of the state. Rewarded for her wartime exploits, she is now the principal of a vocational school. She also holds a largely inconsequential bureaucratic position.

Emotionally unfulfilled, she daydreams about flying and dogfights.

With a peripatetic plot that is almost "slice of life", "Wings" explores the quotidian details of her life--small emergencies at school, her unsatisfactory relationships with her daughter and with a male friend.

The result is an examination of midlife crisis, the transfer of the military lifestyle to civilian life, and a feminist view of job roles in society. Nadezhda seems clueless about the causes of her own dissatisfaction with life. And her students serve as surrogates for military comrades and her own children as she tries to organize her life in a manner she feels is correct.

This film lacks a focus that would make it more relevant.