Air (2023)

 

            “Air” is a Russian film by Aleksei German, Jr. It is set in the Leningrad front in 1942. The movie focuses on a group of female fighter pilots that are integrated into a male unit. The main character is a young woman named Zhenya (Anastasia Talyzina) who is determined to be the best, but must overcome the deaths of other woman pilots.

            The film opens with German planes strafing a refugee column. It is very gritty and harsh because children are imperiled. However, it’s effective in establishing who the villains are.  In case a Russian audience needed to be reminded. At a Soviet air base, two male pilots talk about the female pilots who will soon be joining them. They should stick to giving birth and combing their hair. The movie will be tackling the sexism rampant in the Soviet air force in the war. When the women arrive, they are advized:  “You will cook for us, comfort us, do laundry, and sing songs, raise morale.”  One of the ladies responds: “Cook for yourself, fool.”  The women are led by a tough gal who stands up for them effectively. Gradually, they are given the chance to prove themselves and although their losses are high, they are a positive addition to the squadron. In a callback to the opening scene, they attack German planes strafing refugees. Later, they do the strafing as the Battle of Leningrad turns in favor of the Soviets.

Zhenya survives missions against superior German planes and pilots. The movie has several dog fights featuring frontal views of the pilots. It’s been a hundred years, but aviation combat films still rely on cinematography that goes back to “Hell’s Angels”. Speaking of which, “Air” uses actual aircraft instead of CGI. In another homage to air combat cliches, the enemy is personified by one German ace. Zhenya manages to shoot him down while transporting a baby given to her by a partisan! That’s something I had never seen before. Not satisfied with air combat, there is a scene where Zhenya crashes into a ground battle. Females can fight on their feet as well. And romance, too. Zhenya has an affair with her commanding officer. (No, it’s not a lesbian affair. Russian war movies have not caught up with western war movies.) By the time the movie is in 1944, Zhenya is one of the few females still alive from the first group.

“Air” is too long and yet it does not use the time to fully explore it’s theme of women earning the respect of their male peers. It leads with the women being disrespected by the male pilots, but then it drops the collective struggle to concentrate just on Zhenya. The dysfunction within the unit ends too quickly. Another weakness is the film does not make it clear how the women got better. Zhenya’s arc to the best female pilot is not supported by her evolution as a fighter pilot. She’s a survivor, rather than an ace

The film lacks action, but the dog fights are decently staged. The POV can be confusing even though that might actually be realistic. The film does not soar like it should, especially in comparison to movies like “Top Gun.” I do give it credit for being unpredictable as far as character deaths are concerned. Heavy losses in a fighter squadron is a trope of the subgenre. The difference here is some of the best characters are bumped off too early

The Great Patriotic War was set apart from the western front in WWII partly because of the role of females in the Soviet army. The Russians had female snipers and pilots that contributed greatly to the war effort. There have been movies made in tribute to them. “Air” introduced a new generation of Russians to female fighter pilots. The series “Night Swallows” and “The Attackers” are a better introduction, but they have even more soap operaish plotting

GRADE  =  C