Firebird

Roadside Attractions | Release Date: April 29, 2022

7.2	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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TVJerryMay 5, 2022

This is based on a true story of 2 men who fell in love while serving in the Soviet Army during the Cold War. If discovered, their relationship could result in 5 years of hard labor, so keeping their secret was crucial. The narrative extendsThis is based on a true story of 2 men who fell in love while serving in the Soviet Army during the Cold War. If discovered, their relationship could result in 5 years of hard labor, so keeping their secret was crucial. The narrative extends beyond their military days, as they grow in different directions, while remaining painfully in love. The 2 actors make their attraction feel real and become even more powerful as their situations become more complex. This film hits all the right targets for a story like this in a relatively straightforward manner. The attractive cast and able direction bolster its appeal.… Expand

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night4Dec 1, 2022

Tom Prior is a 9, everything and everyone else is a 4, so... 6.5 overall. It's such a shame that the other actors and the writing are so forgettable and unoriginal. Without Tom, this would be a complete disaster.

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jadonutApr 30, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Despite Tom Prior's beautifully tender portrayal of his character, the film feels largely underwhelming. Perhaps it's due to "Gay period tragedy" fatigue, or maybe even the fact that a few scenes are carbon copies of those from Broke Back Mountain; Protagonist receives news of lover's death in phone booth, wife uncovers proof of affair as husband is packing for trip, protagonist confronts wife after death of ex-lover, etc, etc). And I had high hopes for this given the bizarre timing of its release, a reminder of how little has changed between pre and post-Cold War Russia (although its military seemed slightly more competent in the 70's...) There were several scenes where I wanted the writing to go further and be more explosive, but the film often felt held back. The largest example being when Sergey did visit Luisa after Roman's death. One exception of this, I feel, is the cloaked (hardly) confession at the New Years Even dinner. It was shocking and left the theater audience in a very satisfyingly collective gasp. I also couldn't help but think to myself how cruel Sergey & Roman were to play Luisa like a marionette, knowingly fiddling with her doe-eyed emotions in tandem, particularly while they were on leave in the town together. Otherwise, the way theater and prose had played a role in Sergey's motivations was powerful and appreciated. I can only imagine how much more fully the book had explored these conflicting thoughts, and how much better it navigated this long timeline. Also, yes, their bodies were a little too Abercrombie and Fitch to be believable as Cold-War era soviet soldiers...beautiful but took me outside the fantasy. Maybe someday we will get to the point where these type of builds will be deemed anachronistic to the period that is attempting to be portrayed. In conclusion: I wanted to cry, and got close, but simply couldn't. Tom Prior, however, was magnificent.… Expand

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