Young female fighter pilots arrive to the frontline. They have different stories and different fates. They are getting older, falling in love and lose their closest ones as well as take their place in the world of men. The air has become their home. However, at war no one knows whose fate is to live and who is doomed to die.
Cinematography
Digital grain mimics Soviet film stock—gorgeous, intentional, haunting.
Direction
German Jr. refuses hero worship; his women simply endure.
Practical Effects
Real flying boats and period aircraft, no Marvel green screen nonsense.
Director
Aleksei German Jr.
Anastasia Talyzina
Zhenya
Sergei Bezrukov
Astafiev
Aglaya Tarasova
Katya
Kristina Lapshina
Masha
Elena Lyadova
Rita
Anton Shagin
Volodya
Igor Korovin
Stepanov
Igor Mityushkin
Pashechka
Oleg Grinchenko
Bondar
Anna Blinova
Museum Employee
Anna Isaeva
Nurse Sveta
Vladimir Tyaptushkin
Timofey
Christina Isaykina-Berger
Marina Yatsenko
Mariya Melnikova
Nurse
Andrey Kondratyev
Konyakhin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on the real 588th Night Bomber Regiment, 'Night Witches' who flew wooden biplanes against German tanks. German Jr. specifically avoided Soviet propaganda glorification.
The flying boats are restored 1930s Beriev MBR-2 aircraft; one crashed during production, killing a crew member. The film is dedicated to him.
RU
