MUBI

The title of the film “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears” apparently doesn’t apply to “Ballad of a Soldier,” the tear-jerker. Sentimentality may have some place in cinema, but Ballad comes across as saccharine sweet.

The film tells the story of the young soldier Alexei Nikolaevich Skvortsov who makes his way home during a brief leave from duty. His leave pass was awarded when he accidentally destroyed two German tanks — director/screenwriter Grigori Chukhrai is familiar with the uncomfortable nature of heroism: he was a decorated WWI hero. During his journey he encounters the devastation the war has brought on the country and meets other people affected by the war; his pluckish disposition gives them a ray of sunshine. (Think the Hulk TV series but in red, not green.)

The characters are likeable, and there is some fatalism in the film, but over-all I cannot say I was as affected by the film as the other reviews and posts indicate the other viewers were.