浴火鸟

没什么野心的爱情片，踏踏实实讲了个一开始就注定是悲剧的故事。

想起《新白发魔女传》下一条短评说，爱要面目全非才好看。

每次看到这句我都会想，“好看”与否是站在看客立场给出的评价，我们轻飘飘的摇头或赞赏指向的，是戏中人的一生。

“好看”很重要吗？

有时候我宁愿有情人都得到最俗气最安定的幸福。

死里逃生后惊魂未定的拥抱，同榻而眠时认真勾勒的未来，向主流生活投降后在暗房里偷偷凝视挚爱的影像，下一秒传来妻子的呼唤，于是打开房门，任胶卷在强光下失效。

——是的，妻子。

在文艺作品里，我倾向于把社会问题还原到具体的人身上，在这里我不想探讨群体、不想剖析结构，我只看到了三个痛苦的人。

爱里没有无辜者，但路易莎显然是最不应该承受悲剧的人。

男人都有处可逃，逃向戏剧，逃向蓝天，他们有一整个“外面”可以躲避自我，路易莎没有， 她是罗曼的妻子、是谢廖沙的母亲，唯独不能是医科大学的学生。

她放弃了一切，把自己献给建立在谎言上的家庭。

愿某地方，不需将爱杀害；愿某日子，不需痛苦忍耐。

简单说是军营里由一卷胶卷开始的故事。

你觉得他怎么样？

-我觉得他和别人不一样。

-我也觉得他和别人不一样。

好吧，渣男真帅啊。

同妻在和罗曼的相处中，一点都没有察觉什么吗？

她的确得到了心爱的人作为丈夫，还有孩子的父亲。

如果以女主的视角拍一部片子，未必她和罗曼就不像真爱。

这部片子的男主看着像是得到了罗曼的真爱，不过后来他和罗曼在沙滩上，最幸福地晒着太阳的时候，依然害怕这是一场随时会醒来的美梦。

罗曼的死最后使所有人被迫归于平静。

影片总体对罗曼的心理刻画不算深入，或许只是以他的死，来隐喻罗曼的痛苦未必亚于另外两个人。

（可惜，死亡类似于逃跑，所以令人觉得这个结局有点儿不是滋味）这三个人是按照各自的方式爱着和痛着。

现实最大的悖论是，你最爱的人，最想做的事情，最需要的生活环境，往往无法刚好协调得天衣无缝，拼成一张完美的拼图，甚至它们会互相冰冷地撕扯你的心，让你日夜不能安宁。

真爱是什么呢？

大概就是这样的撕扯中，心里最痛的地方。

痛的起因往往是最无可替代的浪漫。

那段岁月，那些人，那些人里的那个特别的人。

Him。

And you, and ...现实让你最终说出很多人的名字，你总是需要很多名字，而你永远无法忘怀，那个让你脱口而出的第一个名字。

谢尔盖一名陷入困境的应征者，他的最好的朋友路易，一位迷人有野心的基地指挥官秘书，以及一个胆大的年轻战斗机飞行员罗曼，三者之间如何形成危险的三角恋爱关系。

在好奇心的驱使下，他们开启了禁忌之恋，在暧昧与欺骗之间，爱情与友谊的界限开始模糊。

随着罗曼的职业生涯受到威胁，谢尔盖被迫面对自己的过去，而路易莎也努力使家人团聚。

在围城之内，他们冒着失去自由和生命的危险，面对克格勃不断升级的调查，他们之间的命运会走向何方？

Firebird is an epic Queer love story set in a tense Soviet Union. This unconventional film followed the romance of Sergey, played by Tom Prior, and Roman, played by Ukrainian hunk, Oleg Lobykin.

Set in the 1970's Cold War, Firebird is an incredibly stylish film. The visuals feel authentic and true to its setting. But surprisingly, there are bouts of action, adding more thrill to a story that is already anxiety inducing. Another twist is that the film explores a love triangle between Roman, Sergey, and Roman's partner, Luisa- played by Diana Pozharskaya. This part of the world has always been incredibly hostile to LGBT+ people. It is common to see an attempt to erase Queer people from the histories and identities of post-Soviet countries. From the 'LGBT free zones' in Poland; the Gay Propaganda Laws in Russia - to the toxic political discourse in Hungary - 'Firebird' is a symbol of Queer existence throughout history. It is a statement that Queer love is not a modern and Western construct, but it is imbedded in the fabric of humanity. And this piece of history- beautifully shown in the film- is a shining example that the #TheNewEastisQueer, and it always has been.In this interview, the writer/lead actor, Tom Prior and director/writer Peeter Rebane talk about the true story of 'Firebird', its making, and what it was like to meet the real Sergey. EAST: Where did you first meet each other? TOM: I was doing some work in Los Angeles, and a film financier that I was meeting- by coincidence- mentioned that she heard about the story of Firebird- which was under a different name at the time- and promised to introduce me to Peeter. Then we basically connected and I read the script, and fell in love with it instantly. It was when the draft of the screenplay was at a very early stage, and that’s really where it began. EAST: Peeter, when did you first discover the story?PEETER: That was over 10 years ago. A friend of mine- who founded the ‘Black Nights Film Festival’ in Tallinn- she received the original story from a Russian journalist showing it around at the Berlinale, and she knew that I was looking for material for my first film. So I read it over a weekend at home, I literally cried and decided that I have to turn this into a film and then started writing for the first time ever.

EAST: ’The New East is Queer’ is a campaign to debunk the myth that Queer people don’t exist in Eastern Europe and Post-Soviet States. Yet here is a queer love story set in Soviet Russia. Were you conscious of this when deciding to make the movie? Did you feel a sense of duty to tell the story?PEETER: Foremost, I was taken a back by the universal love story. I was also fascinated and really surprised when I read the original manuscript that such a relationship could have actually existed in the Soviet airforce. Then we went on to interview people who served in the Soviet military in the 1970’s and found out that many such relationships existed, and we were also fortunate enough to interview Sergey in Moscow. But at the same time I do feel also that it is important to share this story in light of the real horrors that are going on in Russia and especially in Chechnya today. It is important to remind people about the importance of love and how such relationships have existed throughout the ages. TOM: For me its really important to share these messages. But we were very true when we said we made this film- not for political reasons- but for about love, love wins. Sergey’s character in the film is really about following his heart. There are terrible atrocities happening, but being able to make movies like this, we are effectively being that very change that we want to see in the world. EAST: How was Roman cast? PEETER: That was a really long process. We set a very clear intention to find the most authentic actors that are believable to the true story. So we did a world wide casting, and got 2,500 submissions for the role of Roman. For months we were casting in Europe and the UK, to Moscow. One day in Moscow, Oleg walked in the room and everyone was like: “That’s our Roman”. EAST: How was it working with Oleg?TOM: It was a really fascinating process as Peeter said. We just knew from the minute he walked in the room that it was right, this kind of presence. When you talk about casting in a film, you really are casting a person as you are a performer. He had this real presence and he was the nearest person that we felt was Roman, and so, our journey began. Because he is not a native speaker, at all, in fact he had a very small amount of English when we began the project. It has its challenges, and in some ways it actually helped, to a degree, because it meant that we couldn’t communicate as freely as we would, say in a modern day context in English- which serves the story in an amazing way. Because at the time there was no language around the subject matter. Today we are in a very liberal society where we can begin to scale that in a very easy and transparent way, but at the time there wasn’t that. So it bought a really interesting dynamic to the film. Working with Oleg was a real pleasure but it of course it had its challenges as well: cultural background differences, and things like that. But it was a really beautiful working relationship. EAST: Tom, you were a writer as well as an actor in ‘Firebird’. How did this come about?TOM: When Peeter and I met- and fell in love with the story- at that time we didn’t have the financing in place to make the film. So we made a teaser for the film, and the scenes that we selected for the teaser. I made some suggestions about how we might improve the script a bit, and the lines and the nature of the lines. I have a real sensitivity to being able to produce texts or language of how people actually speak- as oppose to how people one would think people speak- this is something I am quite sensitive to. So I made these few suggestions on how we might improve the script and that ended up several pages of notes and ended up as several weeks of work, which ended up being overall significant rewrites and redrafts and restructures- and doing lots and lots more research. Then by that point, the script was completely a different animal to what I first came to. So we took the strong elements of that and then imbedded in a lot more research.

EAST: Thats an interesting point. After stalking your Instagram its quite clear that you are a spiritual person and quite centred. Did these qualities help you in your writing or acting?TOM: Most definitely. For me this project has been quite extraordinary, in the sense of the level of depth that I have been able to get to. Writing the content, for sure, is a whole other level as a performer. Then also meeting the real Sergey, we interviewed him in Moscow, we also very tragically went to his funeral. He passed away in the time that we were developing the story, and it was a very surreal moment for me, to be at the funeral of a person whose life you have extended in the literary form, and who you will play in real life. So there were very strong moments during the time filming that there was this awareness that Sergey was with us, or certainly the energy. For me, having a real level of emergence within the project meant that the emotion came easily, or the stream of conscienceless, lets say. It was very profound and beautiful for the opportunity to do that as a performer. EAST: And when you met Sergey Fetisov, what were your impressions of him, and did these impressions influence the way you played or wrote about him? TOM: Very much so. It was an honour to meet him, and he was so very full of heart. He was a very heart-led man. You could tell that he had such a sunny persona, and despite having had a lot of trials and tribulations in love, he was bold and happy. So I bought that level of following your heart, and that bounciness to the performance- where I could - without making it seem to out of context at the same time. EAST: And for you Peeter, how was it meeting Sergey Fetisov, and did this impact the way you directed the film?PEETER: As Tom said, he was an amazingly warm and heartfelt person, considering what he had gone through in his life, and how these experiences had made him loving and not hating. I think he definitely informed how we developed the character, and it was an amazing treasure trove speaking to him about actual details, like: what were their favourite pieces of music; what were their favourite foods; which music they would play to each other; which books would they read; which theatre plays they went to see. It all kind of built a world, and helped us to be very authentic in directing and staging the film.EAST: Peeter, being from Estonia, was there anything about your heritage and personal identity that you bought to the project?PEETER: Definitely, when I was a very young boy I still recall the Soviet occupation, and our summer house was actually the airforce base where this story takes place. I have this distinct memory of my friend being on this bicycle and these two MiG’s (Mikoyan-Gurevich) flying overhead at maybe 150 feet, and us literally falling off the bicycles because the noise was so deafening. So I have a very strong personal connection, besides having grown up with this feeling of shame about ones sexuality, having to hide your true identity, and the surrounding environment lacking understanding and being ignorant. So, a lot of parallels for me. EAST: How much history is in the story?PEETER: I think its, well I don’t dare to say 100%, but I think its 99% historically correct. The events happening, the small details of the airforce base, the setting, we really made our upmost to make a film that looks and feels like the 1970’s could have looked and felt like.

EAST: And there seems to be a big military presence in the film. PEETER: From the directing perspective, we had amazing consultants. We had a retired airforce base, a retired Soviet airforce base commander, flight pilot, a person who worked in the command centre, who directed all the flights. We had a lot of people who literally went through the script, went through the dialogues, who were on the set with us, telling us to do it like this, or do it this way. We put trust in not making a Hollywood version of what someone envisages, but in thorough research. TOM: The intricacy of the details is very particular, I mean, even when it comes to the radio announcements, and things like that, and the calling in’s to the planes and the lights from the command centre and everything- its all very accurate. We did the best research to our knowledge, to make sure that it was as real as possible, and the same really with the job titles, the job roles. The military consultants in particular were very useful and an intrinsic part of the training for the performance: the way we would walk; the hand salutes; all this military realism that actually happened, and making sure that the attention to detail- our costume department were really great around that also. So, the military aspects of the film, even this accident, there was an accident sequence within the film as well, which was in the original story, and I was absolutely adamant we had to put it into the film, to give it this military flare, instead of having it simply as a backdrop, but actually as an action sequence, this was really paramount and important to me, to ground it into the real world. EAST: Any personal highlights from onset?Peeter: I think for me one of the most amazing shots was the last shot of the film. Without giving away too much, it lasts about 1.5 minutes, and the camera is going into Sergey, and technically it was huge challenge for our team to pull it off, but also performance wise, for Tom to act out all the different emotions, truthfully, being surrounded by 50 or 60 extras, and knowing that we can’t cut, and that this is all real time, one very long take. TOM: Its a very unforgiving shot, lets put it that way. I’m very proud of that moment, and what came through. It was one of those moments that I was speaking out earlier, where there was this profound connection. I started experiencing some very curious things, emotionally. It was like being show the end of ones life, but I was experiencing it in the real time, which was quite curious. For me, the highlight and more significant highlights of the film was really my personal growth. That to me is a huge success. As a measure of success, it challenged me emotionally, physically, spiritually, and now its a sort of standing point, as a physical manifestation of what one can achieve when there are so many odds against you and challenges and time limiting factors, and all those kind of things. So yeah, we can have a whole other discussion of that for the highlights. But we were so blessed, to have such a wonderful committed and loyal team who were willing to go way above standard hours, the commitment was astounding. EAST: Peeter, did you learn anything about yourself personally or professionally during this project?PEETER: Absolutely, first of all it was my first full length feature. I have done documentaries, but that’s a whole different game. Learning all the nuances of directing on the set of the feature, and actually doing a pretty challenging script. We shot in the air, under the water, in the baltic sea, staged Hamlet in theatre, staged the full production of Firebird, including costumes and choreography, dancers and sets- a lot of very specific scenes. It was very challenging and I had a lot of personal growth during this process, over the last couple of years. TOM: I think for me also, as I mentioned, the physical challenges, the stamina, keeping up your health, mental clarity and sharpness through longer days, and resilience through that. Some days there would be, 5, 6, 7, 8 costume changes, multiple different set environments, we would have to change them very quickly as well. I would be sitting on the train, where we would shoot the train sequences, and moving from one emotional state to another, within minutes, and the whole world of the character has changed and gone upside down in that time. So, to be able to tune in to that energy, that emotional change very quickly, was really amazing. And to also play a lead in a film, there is this overwhelming pressure that you can put on yourself, and to scale that, was for me, a real joy and a real challenge, at times. To stay centred, to stay focussed, and to know what we have got to do and what we are there to do, and yeah, this was a really beautiful example of change and growth, and long hours, knowing that you can do it, and you have got to get through it.

EAST: How relevant do you think the story is for todays audience?Tom: For me, the story is very relevant in terms of following your heart. We live in a world which is probably more divided than ever, with regards to health, with regards to beliefs and perceptions. It is a standing point for following your heart. Actually, if you choose to walk that path, its not necessarily going to be the easiest route, but its probably somewhat the most rewarding- in terms of being able to feel and develop as a person. The film is about following ones heart and ones desires against all the odds, and against the laws of the country and the environment in which somebody grows up in. I hope this is a standing point of inspiration to follow your heart, to love daringly, that would be my wish and hope for its relevance today. EAST: Do you have any plans to show this to Eastern audiences? Peeter: Absolutely, we will distribute the film across the world. We trust we will be at some festivals in the summer, also Autumn, late October- and end of the year we will have a wider distribution across the region. So, I guess we will see how the world is as we open, and depending on how much we will be in cinemas. But definitely, we will be on all major platforms across Europe. 'Firebird' premiered at the 2021 BFI Flare Festival on 17th March 2021 and is available to stream on the BFI Player until 28th March 2021.

看得我非常生气。

Sergey的不成熟做法害死了自己的爱人，并且让同妻变得一生羞辱，孩子没有父亲。

真的希望他去陪葬！

虽然Roman也到了很多低级错误，但相比S的，不在一个伤害等级。

太气愤了😡一些小点也不能接受。

非要在结婚的时候两个人单独见面吗？

非要不锁门就让朋友撞见吗？

非要写封信表达自己的委屈，造成别人家破人亡吗？

搞得这么难看干什么！

1970年的苏联对于同性中的感情是禁止且规定了相关刑法。

纵而使两个相爱的人被世俗狠狠地压在了深不见底的黑暗中。

“黑色的玫瑰和荆棘，微笑与泪水，它们种在一起，互相缠绕。

” 片头的一句旁白，交待了这份复杂而注定没有结果的感情。

“一个永远不会出现的时刻，犹如一个逃避世界的幽灵……” 谢尔盖得知罗曼的婚礼后，他不知道该如何处理这段感情 ，他最后的挣扎，罗曼的一句她怀孕了，使谢尔盖崩溃……唯一的选择是逃离与忘却“so hard ”这段感情，我努力尝试过忘却它………他们在契索的那段画面，让观众沉迷于其中，谢尔盖的爱胜过了罗曼对他的伤害，两人无忧无虑的样子却始终逃脱不了现实。

圣诞节那天，路易莎的到来，使一切烟消云散，谢尔盖独自出门，买了一颗圣诞树。

当路易莎到来时，他见证了罗曼的生活：活泼可爱的孩子，相爱的夫妻，一个幸福洋溢的家庭，与自己相比呢？

又能算什么。

当路易莎问：“谢尔盖，你有没有遇到生命中特别的人？

” “罗曼……还有你。

”谢尔盖的话亦真亦假，他知道，他们之间的爱是不见天日。

最终，谢尔盖选择了逃避，为了罗曼，也为了所有人。

“罗曼，我们之间的爱，只能存在于没有时间与思想的地方，你不该再来找我了………” 再次回来时，谢尔盖收到了罗曼离开时的信：“谢尔盖，我没什么可考虑的，我不会再次伤害我爱的人，不会再分裂自己，去属于每个人……” “谢尔盖，说和做，思考和生活，是不同的………”“谢尔盖，我选择了让我自由的地方，是天空，Forget me，我将永远和你在一起。

” 画面的接近尾声时，谢尔盖走到了他们曾经游泳的地方，此时，已经一片冰凉……如同他们之间的爱，无论过程多么热烈，结果都会凄凉。

仅仅是因为人们眼中的世俗与规矩。

“love is love”爱亦是爱，谢尔盖对路易莎说：“我们之间的爱不逊于你的爱”。

尾声时，谢尔盖，身处于剧院中心，而舞台上的戏剧，正是当年罗曼带他观赏的第一部戏剧“火鸟” 罗曼站在谢尔盖身旁，慢慢的离去。

犹如他从没来过谢尔盖的世界，或是说，这段感情从来没有存在过…… 如开头一样，它是不见天日的…… 如果没有现实生活中老年谢尔盖的叙述《A Tale About Roman》关于罗曼，我们也许永远不会知道这个发生于1970年代两个苏联军人的爱情。

爱亦是爱，它胜过了一切，无论是同性还是异性，它们都存在，是不可抹去的。

这是真实故事改编，俗套这种字眼不适合落在这个作品上面。

成年人也有纯爱。

罗曼说自己没办法分裂自己，说不想让自己心爱的人受伤。

所以，他往天空去。

《小王子》的作家圣埃克苏佩里也是飞行员。

那个年代飞机的安全性同现在的飞机，是无法比拟的。

那种冒着生命危险，依旧要像鸟一样展翅高飞。

为什么？

天空与圣埃克苏佩里而言，就是一场叛逆。

而对罗曼来说，天空是自由。

是独属于真正自己的片刻宁静。

至少他们都曾有过一时半刻不违背内心的选择，这就够了。

参考采访（豆友发的一篇影评）这部电影希望告诉我们，大胆的爱。

你的爱若坚定，则丝毫不比任何人逊色。

谢尔盖，没有路易莎的身份。

也没有和罗曼组成过家庭。

但他愿意在罗曼来找他的时候，放下身边的一切，坐上那辆和罗曼一起去远方的火车。

人生若是尽兴过，散场时也可以无憾。

最后路易莎的拥抱又代表什么呢？

和解？

同悲？

你心里的答案我就不得而知了。

黎明之美就在于它脱胎于最深的黑暗。

既然你都耐心翻到这里了～那我就再说几句吧你在妄想去批评他人之前，首先做的比你所评价的对象好。

不然会有人伤心的。

战火、军人、部队、上世纪……这些都是Be的元素，更何况还有可怕的『真实故事改编』，这行文字一出来，我的心都跟着一颤。

他们化学反应好好，好有性张力。

很久之前看过一次，这是第二次观看。

为了拍你，拍了其他人，但焦点对准你，这种暗戳戳真的好甜。

好喜欢他们水里那里啊，张力满满，但头顶上的战火又预示着结局注定是分离的。

让人觉得好悲伤。

想他们的甜蜜长一点，再长一点，慢点到结局，反复拉扯进度条。

看到他们鱼水之欢的笑觉得好甜蜜，甜蜜得我想哭，想到结局的我又伤心地流下眼泪，注定圆满不了的结局。

喜欢他们从床上摔下来相视一笑那里，好甜。

情欲戏拍得好好哦，看得我热泪盈眶，他们相处的时间太短暂了。

迫降那里，他们经历了一次差点生离死别，为何后边还要再经历一次，太残忍了。

为了所谓的“正常”生活，伪装成另一个自己，自己辛苦，也伤害了爱他的那个他。

他们憧憬的美好未来，全都无法实现，配上那首注定悲剧的背景留声机曲子，我爆哭。

愚蠢可悲的贱女人。

还有那个垃圾朋友。

再看一遍结局，还是哭了。

两人的英语口音好可爱。

爱是时刻都想要和那个人在一起谢尔盖在俄罗斯剧院大学里的这句话真的诠释了他一生对待爱情和罗曼的态度。

整部剧我边看边哭他们真的生错了时代和地方，可惜谢尔盖的原型在过世之前也没有等到俄罗斯对同性恋改变态度的那一天谢尔盖的原型没有孩子，也没有被记载的伴侣，士兵真的用一生来怀念年轻时候遇到的军官冰冷的体制和严厉的法律也没能阻止他们暗处滚滚燃起的深情，整部剧最感动我的地方是谢尔盖一直都在清醒地看着自己在一段不可能有结局的感情里沦陷。

在罗曼的婚礼上那句I try so hard to forget you. but I can't还有在索契谢尔盖靠在罗曼身上说我害怕这是一场梦，我害怕失去你那两个片段全剧最戳我。

这部剧诠释了背弃全世界也要相拥的勇气和爱情，某种程度上它的矛盾挺像free fall这部电影蛮像。

遇到需要背弃世俗去爱的人你是选择继续背负责任，规避世俗风险过一生还是free falk。

我很佩服能够用一生诠释责任感的人，同时也永远被free fall的勇气和爱意感动。

我最难过的是想到在罗曼的婚礼上谢尔盖质问罗曼你爱她吗？

罗曼最后对谢尔盖坦白这是为了保护他。

其实谢尔盖从来都不需要罗曼用婚姻换来的所谓保护，他一直都有罗密欧对爱情的勇气和执着。

Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodii in FirebirdDirector Peeter Rebane and leading actor Tom Prior (The Theory of Everything and Kingsman: The Secret Service) fought to bring Sergey Fetisov’s memoir of a secret love affair between two soldiers in the Soviet Air Force to the big screen. Co-written and co-produced by the pair, Firebird is a sensitive if not slightly melodramatic true story of gay love in Soviet-occupied Estonia. Firebird opens in 1977 with Sergey (Prior) serving his last few weeks of conscription. His girlfriend Luisa (Diana Pozharskaya) has started planning their life together, but Sergey soon becomes distracted by dashing fighter pilot Lieutenant Roman Medveyev (Oleg Zagorodnii).Looking like silver screen icons of the bygone age of Hollywood, the two men bond over their shared interest in the arts. Sergey once had dreams of becoming a stage actor and a night at the ballet seeing Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird’ brings the pair closer together. Their relationship is all clandestine late-night encounters and longing glances. Luisa hasn’t spotted their connection, obviously placing herself as the third member of a love triangle.An anonymous report exposing Roman’s indiscretions is a reminder that sexual relations between two men wasn’t just frowned upon, it could be punished by five year’s hard labour. The pair must make a decision between risking their lives in the face of escalating KGB investigations, or hiding their feelings. It’s desperately romantic, even if the film chooses melodrama over realism.Firebird’s narrative does take the most obvious turns. The weakness of this film is its reliance on obvious twists and cliched character development. Sergey embarks on an acting career, whilst Roman continues in the military. Tensions heighten when Roman embarks on married, domestic life with a woman whilst Sergey is more relaxed about his sexuality. Firebird leans less on the perilous action of being gay in the Soviet era, but instead on more clandestine affair cliché. Despite the obvious journey, it’s a beautifully realised account of love flourishing against a cold, loveless background. Prior and Zagorodnii look good together, Prior sweet and wide-eyed whilst Zagorodnii is handsome and chiselled. The camera zoom is on their faces, every micro-expression of longing picked up by the lens. The choice to use an international cast speaking English won’t please everyone. Using Estonian dialogue with subtitles may have added an authenticity because at times the Eastern Bloc accents are a little distracting;Parasite proved that if a film is good enough, people will happily read the subtitles.

Still from firebirdFirebird looks visually stunning. The intimate scenes are romantic, with late-night swims and dimly lit lovemaking. Some may criticise that the romance is sanitized with the camera moving away when the mood heats up. This is a film about stolen glances, not steamy nights. For a debut feature director who is famed for music videos and tour documentaries (he was also a Eurovision producer), Rebenae knows how to create an atmosphere. The production design should also be commended. The story can be told between any two men, in any part of the world, in any era in history. It is clear through sets, costume, and sound that this is a Soviet-occupied state in the 1970s. What Firebird lacks in originality, it makes up for in atmosphere. The threat this will all be taken away from them lingers over every scene together. In the daytime, the coldness of military life is reflected in the grey colour palette. The scenes transform from a sterile greyness to a warmness as they meet under dim lights, and in the reflection of the moonlight by the river.Firebird will be familiar to many romantic film fans. It relies on well used tropes that were better executed by Call Me by Your Name and Brokeback Mountain. Anyone looking for that uplifting gay love story should move elsewhere. While it’s a beautiful film, it brings nothing new to the library of LBGTQ+ movies.Yet somehow, it will be enough if someone watching this film can resonate with the story.

作者by Amelia HarveyAmelia is a freelance writer, frustrated novelist and occasional wrangling of international students. She is especially interested in LBGTQ culture and 1960s and 70s music. She also writes for Frame Rated, The People’s Movies and Unkempt Magazine, amongst others. Her favourite films include Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Moulin Rouge and Closer. You can find her on Twitter @MissAmeliaNancy and letterboxd @amelianancy