CLASSIC HIGH-FLYING ROMANCE COMES ALIVE `FOR THE MOMENT'.

Byline: Stephen Holden The New York Times

In the gorgeous opening scene of ``For the Moment,'' two carefree young aviators hoot and holler as they glide their World War II aircraft over lush Canadian farmland in the province of Manitoba. It is early summer 1942, and Lachlan (Russell Crowe), a young Australian adventurer, and his Canadian pal Johnny (Peter Outerbridge) are deliriously frisking in the sky to the ethereal strains on the soundtrack of Pachelbel's Canon.

The pair are volunteers in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, a crash course for World War II fighter pilots that drew 130,000 fliers from several countries to bases across Canada. This dashing international brigade brought a bounty of romantic opportunity to the hardy, clean-cut young farm women who lived in the region.

The film is a poignant, high-toned soap opera about the intense, fleeting relationships between these women and the fliers, who, once they entered combat, would be lucky if they survived for six weeks.

With the exception of one racist bully and his sidekicks, almost everybody in the film exudes the shining sweetness and decency that has become something of a cliche in films remembering World War II. But the movie is so well acted that your heart goes out to characters whose mixture of bravery, innocence and native pluck makes them the embodiment of a sensible, uncloying niceness.

``For the Moment,'' which was written and directed by Aaron Kim Johnston, focuses on the romance between Lachlan and Lill (Christianne Hirt), the married sister of Johnny's sweetheart, Kate (Sara McMillan). Lill, whose husband has been away at war for two years, initially resists the gentle advances of Lachlan, a hardy poetry-spouting young pilot who drives around on a motorbike.

Their relationship is all the more touching because the film resists obvious heart-tugging devices. They approach each other with the care of two grown-ups who, while helplessly attracted to one another, are all too aware of the emotional stakes.

Lachlan and Lill's hesitant romance is contrasted with that of Betsy (Wanda Cannon) and Zeek (Scott Kraft), Lachlan's mustachioed flight instructor. Betsy, a lanky, ruddy-faced single mother of two squabbling children, has turned her farmhouse into a club where the young pilots come to drink her homemade liquor and to pay for her sexual favors. Talk about hearts of gold.

Although the local women try to shame Betsy out of her activities, she holds her head high, and Zeek understands. The movie is so intent on portraying her as a generous, free-spirited sexual pioneer that in one encounter near the end, it loses its stiff upper lip and suds come tumbling out.

``For the Moment'' is better at portraying the intimacy of families and lovers than at telling a story. Suffice it to say that some people die, others depart for precarious futures, and tears are shed. Each time the story takes a decisive turn, the film has a way of seeming mechanical until it has discharged its narrative duty and can return to the characters and their day-to-day emotional lives. The screenplay includes one too many verbalized reflections on living for the moment when the future holds such peril.

But don't be put off by these minor lapses. ``For the Moment,'' satisfies a sweet tooth with such calm and intelligent deliberation that you won't leave feeling as though you have just indulged in a guilty pleasure.

THE FACTS The film: ``For the Moment'' (PG-13; several mild sex scenes and scattered profanity.)

The stars: Russell Crowe, Peter Outerbridge, Christianne Hirt, Wanda Cannon, Scott Kraft, Sara McMillan.

Behind the scenes: Produced by Aaron Kim Johnston and Jack Clements. Written and directed by Johnston.

Playing: Music Hall, Beverly Hills.

Our rating: Three Stars.