Made final yr however abruptly obliquely related after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this Estonian-British co-production examines among the methods a repressive and homophobic state equipment scars residents with disgrace. Primarily based on a real story based on the opening credit, the setting is the late Nineteen Seventies when the Soviet Union nonetheless occupied the Baltic nations. Provincial Russian youth Sergey Serebrennikov (performed by British actor Tom Prior, additionally one of many screenplay’s co-authors, together with Estonian director Peeter Rebane and story originator Sergey Fetisov) is doing his nationwide service at a military base in Estonia. He has a coy flirtation going with native magnificence Luisa (Diana Pozharskaya), a secretary on the bottom for a commanding officer, and he's pally together with his bunk mate Volodja (Jake Henderson). Nonetheless, when Sergey is assigned to function a type of valet to suave ace fighter pilot Roman Matvajev (Ukrainian actor Oleg Zagorodnii), the attraction between the 2 males turns bodily they usually’re quickly making out to Tchaikovsky data and sneaking off to Tallinn to observe a efficiency of Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird, therefore the movie’s identify.
Alas, this was a time when homosexuality was outlawed within the Soviet navy – although the present state of affairs will not be a lot better – and an nameless supply ideas off the native KGB officer, that means that Sergey and Roman have to cover their love away. Sergey’s service involves an finish, and he strikes to Moscow to coach to turn into an actor, discovering a extra bohemian circle that lets him hold the closet door ajar if not totally open. A number of years go by and in basic melodrama style, Roman exhibits up once more, simply unable to give up Sergey (as they are saying in Brokeback Mountain), despite the fact that he has married and fathered a son within the meantime.
In the end, it’s a reasonably unhappy story, not in contrast to Brokeback given the interval setting and closeted-love theme. However director Rebane, although competent sufficient, is not any Ang Lee. Prior and Zagorodnii definitely have romantic chemistry, however the dialogue is commonly greater than a little bit stiff and there’s one thing weirdly off about motion pictures the place characters converse English with each other as an alternative of the language the characters are presupposed to be talking in, on this case Russian. You'll be able to see why the film-makers selected to do it this manner, but it surely makes the movie really feel old style and clunky. That’s a disgrace as a result of the movie’s exploration of affection, braveness and the worth of talking your reality is as well timed because it’s ever been, and for Russians notably.
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