Ballad of a Soldier (1959)

When the young "Alyosha" (Vladimir Ivashov) risks life and limb to take out a couple of approaching Nazi tanks, his Comrade General (Nikolay Kryuchkov) proudly suggests an official citation for his bravery. Instead, he pleads to be allowed to travel home to fix his mother's roof. The battalion is due for some rest anyway, so he is given a furlough for six days to get home and get back. Armed with some tins of beef and a message from one of his colleagues to his sweetheart, he sets off on a journey across a war-torn land where he has to use his wits and guile to make it in time. Along the way he meets "Shura" (Zhanna Prokhorenko) who is also fleeing from their invaders and after a typically nervous start in a hay-strewn railway carriage, the two begin to bond as their journey reminds them not just of the dangers of soldiering during wartime, but also of the fairly profound effects that can have on a civilian population struggling for basics - physical and emotional. Aleksandr Kuznetsov is really the only other actor to have anything like a recurring role - he is the train sentry not averse to a little tinned beef either, otherwise it's down to the two actors to tell a story of endurance and love that is really quite endearing. The horrors of war are never far away, but they don't overwhelm a plot that is essentially about humanity, decency and family in the face of unpredictability and fear - a toxic combination for a couple yet to get out of their teens. Ivashov shines here. His character's innocence and integrity are possibly designed for propagandist purposes, but they swiftly rise above that to show us a story of a young man who could just as easily have fought for any of the allies during WWII - and I thought he delivered it really personably. There's a hint of jeopardy at the end and as his journey is frequently tinged with a realism that isn't all rose-coloured cottages the whole thing comes across as a plausible tale of the impact of conflict and of, potently, what they were all fighting for in the first place. There's a lot packed into the ninety minutes, including some humour now and again, and I did enjoy it.