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DramaWar

Fate of a Man

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The story of a man whose life was ruthlessly crippled by World War II. His wife and daughters were killed during the bombing of his village, he spent some time as a prisoner, and his only son was killed in action only a few days before the victory...

Release Date : 1959-04-12

Language :EnglishGermanRussianFrench

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Mosfilm

Production Country : Soviet Union

Alternative Titles : Destiny of a Man

Cast

Sergey Bondarchuk

Character Name : Andrey Sokolov

Original Name : Сергей Бондарчук

Gender : Male

Pavel Boriskin

Character Name : Vanyushka

Original Name : Павлик Борискин

Gender : Male

Zinaida Kirienko

Character Name : Irina Sokolova

Original Name : Зинаида Кириенко

Gender : Female

Pavel Volkov

Character Name : Ivan Timofeevich

Original Name : Павел Волков

Gender : Male

Yuri Averin

Character Name : Müller - concentration camp commandant

Original Name : Юрий Аверин

Gender : Male

Konstantin Alekseev

Character Name : german major engineer

Original Name : Константин Алексеев

Gender : Male

Pavel Vinnikov

Character Name : soviet colonel

Original Name : Павел Винников

Gender : Male

Yevgeni Teterin

Character Name : writer

Original Name : Евгений Тетерин

Gender : Male

Anatoli Chemodurov

Character Name : советский подполковник-артиллерист

Original Name : Анатолій Чемодуров

Gender : Male

Aleksandr Novikov

Character Name : soviet christian prisoner of war

Original Name : Александр Новиков

Gender : Male

Lev Borisov

Character Name : platoon commander

Original Name : Лев Борисов

Gender : Male

Viktor Markin

Character Name : captive surgeon

Original Name : Виктор Маркин

Gender : Male

Yevgeni Kudryashov

Character Name : Kryzhnev - prisoner of war

Original Name : Евгений Кудряшёв

Gender : Male

Aleksandr Kuznetsov

Character Name :

Original Name : Александр Кузнецов

Gender : Male

Vladimir Ivanov

Character Name : Lead singer - concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Владимир Иванов

Gender : Male

Pyotr Savin

Character Name : Pyotr

Original Name : Пётр Савин

Gender : Male

Yevgeniya Melnikova

Character Name : landlady

Original Name : Евгения Мельникова

Gender : Female

Vyacheslav Beryozko

Character Name :

Original Name : Вячеслав Берёзко

Gender : Male

Nikolai Aparin

Character Name : captive in the church

Original Name : Николай Апарин

Gender : Male

Nikolay Pechentsov

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Николай Печенцов

Gender : Male

Andrey Puntus

Character Name : german officer in the concentration camp

Original Name : Андрей Пунтус

Gender : Male

Georgi Shapovalov

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Георгий Шаповалов

Gender : Male

Vladimir Strelnikov

Character Name : Anatoliy - Sokolov's son

Original Name : Владимир Стрельников

Gender : Male

Anatoli Berladin

Character Name : soviet soldier

Original Name : Анатолий Берладин

Gender : Male

Vladimir Boriskin

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Владимир Борискин

Gender : Male

Aleksey Egorov

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Алексей Егоров

Gender : Male

Andrey Karasyov

Character Name : german soldier

Original Name : Андрей Карасёв

Gender : Male

Vladimir Kartashov

Character Name :

Original Name : Владимир Карташов

Gender : Male

Aleksandr Lebedev

Character Name : young soviet soldier

Original Name : Александр Лебедев

Gender : Male

Viktors Lorencs

Character Name : one-eyed german officer

Original Name : Viktors Lorencs

Gender : Male

Georgi Millyar

Character Name : drunk german soldier

Original Name : Георгий Милляр

Gender : Male

Olga Mingalyova

Character Name :

Original Name : Ольга Мингалёва

Gender : Female

Yuri Mikhajlov

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Юрий Михайлов

Gender : Male

Yevgeni Morgunov

Character Name : fat german soldier

Original Name : Евгений Моргунов

Gender : Male

Pyotr Mukhin

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Пётр Мухин

Gender : Male

Muin Mukhitdinov

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Муин Мухитдинов

Gender : Male

Jüri Müür

Character Name : german officer

Original Name : Jüri Müür

Gender : Male

Daniil Netrebin

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Даниил Нетребин

Gender : Male

Anatoly Nikitin

Character Name : soviet officer

Original Name : Анатолий Никитин

Gender : Male

Viktor Shtykov

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Виктор Штыков

Gender : Male

Viktor Yakovlev

Character Name : concentration camp prisoner

Original Name : Виктор Яковлев

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-12-14

"Sokolov" (Sergey Bondarchuk) hopes that his warrior days are behind him after the civil war as he settles down with sweetheart "Irina" (Zinaida Kirienko) and starts a family. Sadly for him, the Nazis don't share his desires for a peaceable life and so he is duly conscripted into the Soviet army. Like so many of his counterparts, he waves goodbye to his family promising to return but having no real idea when or if he shall. Things definitely don't get off to a good start when he is captured by the invaders and imprisoned amidst a perilous environment of arbitrary killings regardless of whether you are a prisoner of war, a Russian citizen or a Jew. With the impetus of the war shifting, though, he manages to escape and we follow his attempts to make it back home to his family. Now this is told in retrospective so we do know what the outcome of his searching is going to be and as we near the denouement we find a character that's utterly devoid of hope - until the young lad "Vanya" (a joyous effort from Pavel Boriskin) makes an unpredictably profound impact on the older man now largely bereft of purpose. The wartime photography delivers strongly here illustrating the mayhem and chaos brought by the indiscriminate activities of their enemy and, latterly, their own forces whilst clearly demonstrating the horrors randomly inflicted on the population. Bondarchuk is also expert at portraying a character that is simple, decent and ultimately one who wants merely to be left to the joys of his family and his hard work. That's especially poignant when he is facing death at the hands of the prison camp commandant who sees the killing of his inmates as little different from sport. There's a tiny bit of religiosity in here too, which I thought added an extra human dimension to a story that could just as easily be applied to any of a million foot soldiers fighting in WWII without knowing what was going on at home. If the last scene doesn't bring a lump to your throat...