Firebird
The true story of a gay affair on a Soviet air force base proves as relevant as ever.
Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodnii
Firebird is made with great assurance and introduces us to a number of notable newcomers, but it is also a work that plays like a game of two halves. First, though, the talent. Central here is Peeter Rebane since he was himself born in Estonia which is the setting for this story taken from real life and he is credited not only as director but as a co-producer and as co-writer. These last two credits are shared with Tom Prior who is British and who, playing one of the two lead roles, gets his best acting opportunities to date. Also notable is Prior’s co-star Oleg Zagorodnii, a Ukrainian born in Kyiv who is not yet a familiar face over here. Both actors play with confidence and Rebane’s direction never for a moment suggests his relative lack of experience. The film is notable too for its good production values and for the efficiency of the editing by Tambet Tasuja.
Firebird opens in 1977 when Estonia was a Soviet Socialist Republic and the Soviet Air Force had an interceptor base at Haapsalu. Tom Prior plays Sergey, a private who is posted there while on military service. Zagorodnii’s role is that of Roman Matvejev, a lieutenant who is already a fighter pilot when he arrives at the base. On occasion Sergey carries out duties for Roman and it turns out that both men have a passion for photography. Born of that a friendship develops which will soon become much more than that. Indeed, Firebird derives from a memoir entitled A Tale about Roman which Sergey Fetisov (to whose memory this film is dedicated) published in 1996. Consequently, the first half of Firebird is a portrait of two gay men who, being in the military at a time when homosexual acts were illegal, had to conceal their love always knowing that if discovered it would in Roman's case end his military career.
Gay audiences in particular will respond readily to the sympathetic portrayal of a situation in which many gay servicemen have found themselves over time and this example of it is most persuasively presented. Indeed, the acting is strong enough all round for the viewer to suspend disbelief despite the decision to have the dialogue in English even though the characters are all Estonians or Russians. That choice doubtless reflects a wish to create a film of wide commercial appeal and not least for gay viewers it will be part of the attraction that both Prior and Zagorodnii are handsome men as well as being good actors. The presence of a major (Margus Pringel) who is strongly homophobic adds to the tension, but the necessity of concealment means that both men have to cultivate an image that hides their true selves. Indeed, at various times both are talked of as being very close to Luisa (Diana Pozharskaya) the secretary of the base’s commander, Kuznetsov (Nicholas Woodeson), and there is some deliberate subterfuge in this.
The second half of Firebird moves forward to 1978 and then to 1982. Moscow where Sergey is establishing himself as a stage actor now becomes the main location. It would be inappropriate to reveal here just how the love story of Sergey and Roman developed. What can be said is that the complications inherent in it are told in a manner which seems less authentic than what has preceded it. This is not because the events are unlikely but on account of how it is handled in the screenplay. The writing too often comes close to melodrama or to scenes that feel set up to create an effect. In addition, the film fails to take account of the fact that what happens sometimes puts the lovers in a less sympathetic light (their tragedy would only be the stronger if the sense of them hurting others was more potently realised). Nevertheless, many viewers will be so sympathetic to this enterprise that they may overlook these weaker elements. There is certainly much to appreciate here and that extends to a neat use of classical music on occasion including Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky: the film’s title is indeed a reference to the latter’s ballet music for The Firebird and Rebane knows how to use that powerfully.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Tom Prior, Oleg Zagorodnii, Diana Pozharskaya, Jake Thomas Henderson, Margus Prangel, Nicholas Woodeson, Markus Luik, Kaspar Velberg, Ester Kuntu, Sergei Laurentyev, Anatoli Tafitsuk.
Dir Peeter Rebane, Pro Brigitta Rozenbrika, Peeter Rebane and Tom Prior, Screenplay Peeter Rebane and Tom Prior, from the memoir A Tale about Roman by Sergey Fetisov, Ph Mait Mäekivi, Pro Des Eva-Maria Gramakovski, Kalju Kivi and Frantseska Vakkum, Ed Tambet Tasuja, Music Krzysztof A. Janczak, Costumes Marjatta Nissinen and Mare Raidha.
The Factory/No Reservations Entertainment/Film Estonia/Firebird-Jade Films.
107 mins. Estonia/UK. 2021. USA Rel: 29 April 2022. UK Rel: 22 April 2022. Cert. 15.
