Young Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
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Title: Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Vladimir Ivashov | ... | Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov (as Volodya Ivashov) | |
| Zhanna Prokhorenko | ... | Shura | |
| Antonina Maksimova | ... | The mother | |
| Nikolay Kryuchkov | ... | The general | |
| Evgeniy Urbanskiy | ... | Vasya (the invalid) | |
| Elza Lezhdey | ... | The invalid's wife (as E. Lezhdej) | |
| Aleksandr Kuznetsov | ... | Gavrilkin (the train sentry) (as A. Kuznetsov) | |
| Evgeniy Teterin | ... | The lieutenant ('A terrible beast') (as Ye. Teterin) | |
 |
Valentina Markova | ... | Liza (Pavlov's wife) (as V. Markova) |
| Marina Kremnyova | ... | Zoya (neighbor girl) (as M. Kremnnyova) | |
| Vladimir Pokrovskiy | ... | Pavlov's invalid father (as V. Pokrovsky) | |
| Georgiy Yumatov | ... | Sergeant giving bars of soap (as G. Yumatov) | |
| Gennadiy Yukhtin | ... | Pvt. Seryozha Pavlov (as G. Yukhtin) | |
| Valentina Telegina | ... | Old woman truck driver (as V. Telegina) | |
| Lev Borisov | ... | Joking soldier on train (as L. Borisov) | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
During World War II, 19 year old soldier Alyosha gets a medal as a reward for a heroic act at the front. Instead of this medal he asks for a few days leave to visit his mother and repair the roof of their home. On the train eastwards he meets Shura who is on her way to her aunt. In those few days traveling together they fall in love. Written by Leon Wolters <wolters@strw.LeidenUniv.nl>
Taglines:
From the very pages of life itself! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
Soviet UnionLanguage:
RussianRelease Date:
26 December 1960 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Ballad of a Soldier See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The can of meat the train guard is eating from was clearly marked: "U.S. Meat". This would have been correct in actual life due the United States' Lend Lease with the Soviet Union. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Alyosha, a 19-year old private in the Soviet army, more or less by accident neutralizes three German tanks and is allowed to return home to see his mother and fix her roof on a six-day leave. On a train he meets another stow-away, the timid Shura, and falls in love. The movie depicts the people he meets on his way home through war-torn Russia.
This is an amazing film, a kind of shaggy-dog story and one you are not liable to forget. It is so extremely well-paced in a natural, flowing rhythm with a smooth, unassuming camera and lovely lighting. Be that all is it may, whatever the film's affinities with Pudovkin masterpieces such as 'Earth' and 'Deserter', 'Ballad of a Soldier' is all heart, empathy and sincerity, and it will clutch at your heart-strings.
The boy is not yet jaded in the grown-up fashion, and the people he meets stir him into immediate sympathy, Alyosha is simply one of the most likable characters you will encounter in a film, without being trite or cutesy. And the people he meets are hardly ever as sympathetic as he is, witness private Pavlov's girlfriend, whom Alyosha promised to bring the soap as a gift. When he gets there, she has a lover visiting her, and although Alyosha judges her, the film itself does not. Its description of budding young love is enchanting, but it has, finally, its own bitter irony.
Watch this whenever you get the chance. Do not let prejudice about what you think Soviet cinema is like detain you.