Firebird

 

A Ukrainian Friend of mine sent me this DVD for my Birthday. I had never heard of the movie (it came out in April 2022) but she said since it was June (Gay Pride Month) and one of the main Actors (Oleg Zagorodnii - Олег Загородній) is Ukrainian  - born and raised in Kyiv - I should watch it. So I did. It is in English, by the way.

Spoiler Alert!!!!!

(Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodnii)

It’s a true story about a Private  - Sergey - (played by Tom Prior) in the 1970s who is almost done with his Soviet Military Service that all Soviet Men had to do when he meets a Fighter Pilot  - Roman - (played by Oleg Zagorodnii) and they fall in love, but they have to hide their love – especially from the KGB who are watching them. There is also a Woman  - Luisa - (played by Russian Actress Diana Pozharskaya) in between the two. The story doesn’t end well. Spoiler Alert!!!!! With Roman dying during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s.

(Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodnii)

Being a Gay Man in the Soviet Union was illegal (although being a Lesbian was not) from 1933-1991 and you would go to a Forced Labor Penal Colony for at least 5 years if caught. Being Gay was also illegal in Russia from 1991-1993 and again since 2013 (including in Russian-Occupied parts of Ukraine.)

(Sergey Fetisov)

The man it is based off of, Sergey Fetisov, died in 2017. He had been in Soviet and Russian Theater for decades as well as over 40 Soviet and Russian films.

The title “Firebird” refers to the 1910 Russian Ballet “Firebird” (French: L'Oiseau de feu; Russian: Жар-птица) by Igor Stravinsky.

You can watch “Firebird” on different Streaming Services.