Maria Klyuchareva

Aerograd

A Russian outpost in Eastern Siberia comes under threat of attack by the Japanese. Aerograd is a new town with a strategically located airfield of vital interest to the government. Work on the new outpost is complicated when tensions develop between workers and a religious sect. Relations between the two countries are further strained in the days before World War II, dating back to the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

The Cranes Are Flying

Veronika and Boris come together in Moscow shortly before World War II. Walking along the river, they watch cranes fly overhead, and promise to rendezvous before Boris leaves to fight. Boris misses the meeting and is off to the front lines, while Veronika waits patiently, sending letters faithfully. After her house is bombed, Veronika moves in with Boris' family, into the company of a cousin with his own intentions.

Love and Hate

A group of Ukrainian women are forced to work in the mine under the supervision of cruel enemy soldiers. When the soldiers are forced to retreat and decide to blow up the mine, the women organize a guerrilla action to stop them.

My Love

When Shura's sister dies, Shura starts taking care of her newly orphaned niece. Her fiancee, Grisha thinks the child may be Shura's own, and his suspicions estrange them. This leaves the way clear for a shy neighbor who has loved her from afar to gain points as a potential mate. Stenberg's design is simple and effective - a strongly-colored portrait of the pensive heroine at a table that provides space for the title and limited credits.

Wedding

Petty bourgeois Zhigalovs, whose daughter-in-law Dasha is being extradited, find out to their horror that the official Aplombov, who has been caring for Dasha all summer, has dined every day with them and has proved himself to be his bridegroom, is not going to marry at all.

Accordion

Igor Savchenko's Accordion (Garmon', 1934) was adapted from a poem by A. Zharov. This film sheds light on the reasons why the mass song came into being. In it, the country boy Timosha stops playing the accordion after being chosen leader of the local Komsomol. When he understands that he must compete with the sad kulak songs played by Tlskliby ("Mournful"), he recognizes his mistake in abandoning his accordion, and in the end he gathers the other youths around him with his lively and merry songs.

A Distracted Person

The hero - an absent-minded person from Basseinaya Street - goes not to Moscow, but to the opening of a children's railway. The pioneers invite him there. And this time the character finds himself in a lot of funny situations along the way. However, he still manages to open the railway. The picture ends with a march performed by schoolchildren.

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