Though Mikhail Kalatazov's
The Cranes Are Flying is not as good as
I Am Cuba, his masterpieceâand, for me,
the greatest film ever madeâit is an outstanding work of cinema. As with
I am Cuba,
Cranes is a feast for the eyes, a feast of experimental edits, architectural photography, dazzling angles,
close-ups of beautiful faces, and long tracking shots of the masses. Though the story is ordinary enough (the love of two young Soviets is brought to an end by World War II), not one moment in the film lacks the excitement of a person telling
the most original story ever imagined. (
SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 464-5830, www.seattlefilm.org. 9 pm, $9.)