Wings

Aroview: Elegant black and white drama about an ex-WWII Soviet fighter pilot, the directorial debut of Ukrainian filmmaker Larisa Shepitko.

A character study exploring the generational divide in the Soviet Union in the 60's, where the once heroic pilot (played by luminous Russian character actress Maya Bulgakova) works a disappointingly ordinary job as a school principal at a trades school, and struggles to relate to her daughter, who never knew the ideals of self-sacrifice and duty that characterised the WWII generation. A highly existential film exploring alienation and loneliness through a uniquely humanist lens, from a budding auteur who tragically died in a car crash in 1979, leaving behind only a small handful of films.