Firebird

"Risk everything, trust no one"

2021 1h 47m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🥫

57%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 249🥫57%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 14,267

DramaRomanceHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

At the height of the Cold War, a troubled soldier forms a forbidden love triangle with a daring fighter pilot and his female comrade amid the dangerous surroundings of a Soviet Air Force Base.

“Risk everything, trust no one”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Tom Prior
Sergey
Oleg Zagorodnii
Roman
Diana Pozharskaya
Luisa
Jake Henderson
Volodja
Margus Prangel
Major Zverev
Nicholas Woodeson
Polkovnik Kuznetsov
Ester Kuntu
Masha
Kaspar Velberg
Pilot Selenov

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peeter Rebane
Writers: Sergey Fetisov, Leo Lätti, Tom Prior
Languages: English, Estonian, Russian
Countries: Estonia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Estonian, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Estonia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

227+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peeter Rebane, shot by Mait Mäekivi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Krzysztof Aleksander Janczak. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tambet Tasuja shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodnii and Diana Pozharskaya carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peeter Rebane directs. Mait Mäekivi behind the camera. Krzysztof Aleksander Janczak scores. Tambet Tasuja cuts. Produced in Estonia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany. Dialogue in English, Estonian, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 5 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Estonian, Russian.
3International production across 4 countries: Estonia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany.
4227+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Peeter Rebane, shot by Mait Mäekivi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Krzysztof Aleksander Janczak. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Tambet Tasuja shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodnii and Diana Pozharskaya carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Risk everything, trust no one".
10IMDB entry: tt4061620 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Mait Mäekivi
Original score: Krzysztof Aleksander Janczak
Editing: Tambet Tasuja
Production design: Eva-Maria Gramakovski
Costume design: Marjatta Nissinen
Makeup / hair: Nele Raudik
VFX supervisor: Gary E. Beach
Sound: Adrian Baumeister
Stunt coordinator: Enar Tarmo
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $253,583
Original language: EN
IMDB: Firebird (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 57% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 14,267 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

8 wins & 4 nominations total

Also by

Peeter Rebane

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-05
★ 7/10
Sergey (Tom Prior) is a young private in the Soviet army based in Estonia. With only a few weeks of his service left, he is designated to look after the newly arrived pilot Lt. Matvejev (Oleg Zagorodnii). Initially very formal, the two begin to bond over their enthusiasm for photography and vodka. Soon, the two are lovers and treading a very dangerous path - not only could they face up to 5 years in a gulag somewhere, but the stigma attached to there activities would be career ending for both. Luckily, his/their friendship with the colonel's assistant Luisa (a sparing but strong effort from Diana Pozharskaya) serves to deflect the attentions of the suspicious KGB major Zverev (Margus Prangel), but well and truly spooked, the two must take self preservation measures resulting in the younger man leaving and moving to Moscow to become an actor, whilst his erstwhile boss stays put and marries Luisa. Neither man can forget the intensity of their relationship, and it isn't long before Matvejev is in on an assignment and the two men are all but living together. The arrival of his wife and child finally brings things to an head; sadly one ultimately leading to tragedy for all concerned. This is a true story, but though set in the Communist era could apply just as easily to so many other, supposedly more free, nations who banned same sex relationships or people who were gay from their military. To his credit, director Peeter Rebane manages to create quite an uncomfortable sense of peril in the production at the start. We do genuinely fear for the two as they explore their feelings for each other, and genuinely fall in love. Prior reminded me a little of Jonas Nay from "Deutschland 83" (2016) (though his well developed torso doesn't always look like it belongs to his head!); and he performs really well, managing to hold his accent together for the most part whilst instilling in the audience a real sense of the affection he has for his friend which is, in as practical a way as the man knows how to, but very genuinely, reciprocated. This is a well paced and scored film with some pretty potent and engaging dialogue, but in the end it is about the two men demonstrating how to fall in love in dangerous times. Insofar as the (brief) sex is between two men, it is a gay film - but more than that it is about love - the two men and Luisa - and about survival - and is really well worth a watch.
kinrich302026-08-30
★ 2/10
This is based on a real-life story set in the late 70's to 80's about two Russian soldiers who fall in love, but their relationship was forbidden. The movie definitely had a slower pace, not that it was bad by any means, but it didn't have a happy ending either.