Firebird is an enormously satisfying and complete film. It tells a full tale of life, and love and loss from its beginning right up to an end that could never need or want a sequel.
Peeter Rebane‘s story of two Soviet military recruits, a pilot officer and a private, falling in love on a military base during the 70s cold war, is based on a true story. Skeptical as we are about stories ‘based on’ truth, people’s ages and weights on dating profiles might make that same claim, there is an undeniably human element to this story that grips the heart and mind with a sense of both individuality and history Private Sergey (Tom Prior) is involved in a friendly, but loose, flirtation with a female colleague (Diana Pozharskaya). When officer Roman (Oleg Zagarodnii) joins the base that fades into the background as his relationship with Roman evolves from a mutual interest in photography to a passionate but hidden romance. The threat of imprisonment hangs over them and comes to a head when an anonymous report is filed to the KGB claiming that Roman has committed homosexual acts. Plans to enable a secret life together are abandoned and Sergey ends up out of the air force striking out on his own as an actor in Moscow. Only later does he discover that Roman and the girl who had been his good friend and almost girlfriend, have gone on to develop their own attachment ending in marriage. The film is endlessly stylish with the loving cinematography of a Hollywood heyday romance or salutes to wartime heroism. The main characters striking good looks manage to avoid getting in the way of the acting. All three of them hang great performances off perfect cheekbones nestled in glimpses of chic wardrobe choices both in and out of their uniforms |
Flourishes of military action sit alongside intimately captured photos of domesticity and scenes of orchestrated ballet. A variety of settings and situations weave into tapestries of lives lived. It is rare to feel that a story has been successfully told in this detail without losing any narrative momentum. It ends when it has to because the story is told.
Review by ANDREW HEBDENQueerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA & CULTURAL STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing, and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement, he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre, and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day.
Andrew Hebden viewed the World Premiere of FIREBIRD at BFL Flare Film Festival in London
