Ballad of a Soldier - Definition

Ballad of a Soldier, (Ballada o soldate) is a 1959 Soviet Union award-winning motion picture drama directed by Grigori Chukhrai that is set in World War II.

Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a "war story" but 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. However, his journey changes when he hops a freight train and discovers a young girl stowed away in the railcar.

Production:

• Director: Grigori Chukhrai
• Producer: M. Chernova
• Screenplay: Grigori Chukhrai, Valentin Yezhov
• Cinematography: Vladimir Nikolayev, Era Savelyeva
• Film editing: Mariya Timofeyeva
• Music: Mikhail Ziv

Running time: 89 min

Primary cast:

• Vladimir Ivashov - Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov
• Zhanna Prokhorenko - Shura
• Antonina Maksimova - The mother
• Nikolai Kryuchkov - The general
• Yevgeni Urbansky - Vasya
• Elza Lezhdey - Vasya's wife

Awards:

• BAFTA Award for Best Picture, 1961
• Cannes Film Festival - Special jury prize
• San Francisco International Film Festival - winner, Golden Gate Award for Best Film
• San Francisco International Film Festival - winner, Golden Gate Award for Best Director - Grigori Chukhrai
• Nominated: Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - Grigori Chukhrai, Valentin Yezhov