Movie review
October 29, 2021 · 107 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Firebird is a 2021 romantic drama set on a Soviet Air Force base in occupied Estonia during the Cold War. A young soldier forms a clandestine gay relationship with a fighter pilot while caught in a love triangle with the pilot’s female comrade. The story focuses on the risks, secrecy, and personal consequences of their forbidden same-sex romance under military repression. Queer identity and the gay relationship are central and visible throughout, driving the narrative and character decisions.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Firebird.
Woke representation / casting
central visible LGBTQ+ male leads and same-sex romance front and center
Woke political dialogue
occasional references to Soviet laws against homosexuality
Identity-driven story themes
entire narrative engine is forbidden gay love, queer identity, and secrecy
Western institutional / cultural critique
historical Soviet military/KGB anti-gay repression shown as setting-appropriate conflict with no modern activist reframing of Western institutions, patriarchy, or capitalism
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Production
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Russian backlash explicitly calling the film homosexual propaganda
Creator track record context
no relevant prior work cited
