Review: 'Firebird' is a sincere drama about a forbidden gay love affair, raised up by its passionate performances

The British-Estonian drama “Firebird” is a type of movie we don’t see as much as we used to: An earnestly presented gay romance, centering on the heartbreak of having to hide who and how one loves.

On a Soviet military base in Estonia in 1977, Sergey Serebrennikov (Tom Prior) is a reluctant private who is counting the days until his military service is over and going back to working on his family’s farm. His dream, if he ever dared to pursue it, would be to enroll in drama school in Moscow and become an actor.

Sergey tells his dreams to his best friend on base, Luisa (Diana Pozharskaya), who works in the office of the base’s commander, Comrade Colonel Kuznetsov (Nicholas Woodeson). Luisa is sweet on Sergey, but he never reciprocates — because he’s gay, a secret that will get him court-martialed and imprisoned if it’s ever found out.

A new arrival on base threatens the order in Sergey’s life: Lt. Roman Matvejev (Oleg Zagorodnii), a charming pilot who has even Luisa taking notice. But Roman and Sergey discover a shared interest in photography — and, over time, in each other. But with a KGB-connected major (Margus Prangel) nosing around, they try to keep their love affair out of view.

The story skips ahead a year, with Sergey in Moscow, following his drama-school dreams. He gets a surprise visit from Roman, who on an assignment. They resume their romance, again in secret. But when Roman fears being caught, he leaves, only to return with news that he’s going to marry Luisa.

Director Peeter Rebane and Prior, the actor playing Sergey, co-wrote the script — a direct, heartfelt drama based on the true story of ex-soldier Sergey Fetisov, told without a speck of cynicism or irony. That kind of sincerity doesn’t allow for many twists in the narrative, just a steady pounding home of the passion and danger in Sergey and Roman’s relationship.

What carries “Firebird” are the equally sincere, and passionate, performances by the three leads: Prior and Zagorodnii as the military men who find themselves in each other’s arms, and Pozharskaya as the woman who loves both of them and doesn’t fathom why that love isn’t returned. Those performances are what send the emotions of “Firebird” soaring.

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‘Firebird’

★★★

Opens Friday, April 29, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City). Rated R for language and some sexual content. Running time: 107 minutes.