Song of the Soldier

During World War II, 19-year-old messenger Alyosha (played by Vladimir Ivashov) was awarded for destroying two German tanks with an anti-tank gun in the Great Patriotic War. However, Alyosha requested the general not to award him; he only hoped to get a few days off to visit his mother (played by Antonina Maksimova). Thus, Alyosha embarked on a six-day journey home. Along the way, he encountered the innocent girl Shura (played by Zhanna Prokhorenko), and they fell in love at first sight. However, the train they were on was bombed, and Alyosha spent considerable time helping the wounded. When Alyosha finally returned to his hometown, he only had time to say a few words to his mother by the field before he had to go back to the front lines. Unfortunately, that would be the last time Alyosha was ever seen again. Directed by the renowned filmmaker Grigory Chukhrai, the Soviet realist film masterpiece 'Ballad of a Soldier' was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 34th Academy Awards in 1962, was in contention for the Palme d'Or at the 13th Cannes Film Festival in 1960, and won several awards, including Best Film at the 15th British Academy Film Awards in 1962.