This is a sophisticated Russian film classic with some song and dance numbers coming from the Stalinist regime. This was a light communist anti Nazi comedy. A Russian official was shot down and end up in the hospital. After he recovers ,he ends up working with female copilots. A reporter is assign to interview him. They end up falling in love. The dance numbers were of the traditional Russian dance ,since jazz and swing was also banned in Russia at the time. What I don't under stand is that the planes that are used in the films are unsophisticated . They looked like they were built in the 1930's.Wern't planes more sophisticated back then in communist controlled Russia ? Well the main officials in this film with the help of the female copilot bomb the Nazi's. Noboy seems to get killed except the Nazi's. This was probably a moral booster. It wasn't one of those artsy types that filmmakers like Sergie Esenstieht. It was light entertainment with some propaganda It was restored in 1970

This is one of my favourite movies of all time. The plot centers around a fighter pilot who is shot down by the Nazis and after recovery, due to not being allowed to fly at the speeds of a fighter plane, he is put in charge of a squadron made up of women all flying the U-2 (Po-2), the slowest and leas prestigious of all the planes. After bemoaning the loss of his fighter plane, he starts seeing the value in the old, slow, training bi-plane. Along with that, he meets and falls in love with a young journalist who comes over to interview him. This is a big no-no as he and his friends had a pact to not fall in love till the end of the war. Slowly, the pact is broken, first by one of the friends then by him and in the end everyone has a significant other.Beyond the sugary sweetness of the plot, this is a good movie. It's happy and bright and has wonderful songs. The acting is fantastic and the script very funny and at times very touching. If you like romantic comedies, watch this one, you won't be disappointed.If you have the time, check out the Po-2 bi-plane as it is one of the greatest planes ever built and is seriously undervalued. Oh, and the all female squadrons did in fact exist and they did fly the Po-2 (then known as the U-2) and they were feared as stealthy night bombers by the Nazis. Do check it out.