''Fate of a Man'' (russian: Судьба человека, translit. Sudba Cheloveka), also released as ''A Man's Destiny'' and ''Destiny of a Man'' is a 1959 Soviet film adaptation of the short story by

Mikhail Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...

, and also the directorial debut of

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (russian: Сергей Фёдорович Бондарчук, ; uk, Сергі́й Федорович Бондарчук, Serhíj Fédorovych Bondarchúk; 25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian ...

. In the year of its release it won the Grand Prize at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival.

Plot

With the beginning of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

, driver Andrei Sokolov has to part with his family. In May 1942 he is taken prisoner by the Germans. Sokolov endures the hell of a Nazi concentration camp, but thanks to his courage he avoids execution and finally escapes from captivity behind the front line to his own. On a short front-line vacation to his small homeland

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

, he learns that his wife and both daughters have died during the bombing of Voronezh by German aircraft. Of those close to him, only his son remained, who became an officer. On the last day of the war,

May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. *1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. *1386 – England and Portugal formally rati ...

, Andrei receives news that his son has died. After the war, the lonely Sokolov works as a truck driver away from his native places - in

Uryupinsk Uryupinsk (russian: Урю́пинск) is a town in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Volgograd on the Khopyor River. Population: Etymology There are two theories of the historical background for the town's name. One is that it i ...

( Stalingrad Oblast). There he meets a little boy Vanya, who was left an orphan: the boy's mother died during the bombing, and his father went missing during the war. Sokolov decides to tell the boy that he is his father, and by doing so he gives himself and the boy hope for a new happy family life.

Cast

as Andrei Sokolov * Pavel Boriskin as Vanya *

Zinaida Kiriyenko Zinaida Mikhailovna Kiriyenko (russian: Зинаи́да Миха́йловна Кириенко; 9 July 1933 – 12 February 2022) was a Russian actress and singer, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1965), People's Artist of the RSFSR (1977). She wa ...

as Irina, Sokolov's wife *

Pavel Volkov Pavel (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel ...

as Ivan Timofeyevich, Sokolov's neighbor * Yuri Averin as Müller * Kirill Alekseyev as German Major * Pavel Vinnik as Soviet Colonel *

Lev Borisov Lev Ivanovich Borisov (Russian: Лев Иванович Борисов; 8 December 1933, Plyos – 15 November 2011, Moscow) was a Russian actor. Brother of Oleg Borisov. He was a People's Artist of Russia.

as platoon *

Georgy Millyar Georgy Frantsevich Millyar, sometimes spelled Milliar (russian: Георгий Францевич Милляр; 7 November 1903 in Moscow – 4 June 1993 in Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian actor, best known for playing evil spirits in Soviet fa ...

as drunk German soldier *

Yevgeny Morgunov Yevgeny Alexandrovich Morgunov (russian: Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Моргуно́в; April 27, 1927 – June 25, 1999) was a Soviet and Russian actor, film director, and script writer, Merited Artist of Russian SFSR (1978 ...

as fat German soldier (uncredited)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fate Of A Man 1959 directorial debut films 1959 films 1950s Russian-language films 1959 war films Films about adoption Films based on Russian novels Films directed by Sergei Bondarchuk Films set in Russia Films set in the Soviet Union Films shot in Russia Eastern Front of World War II films Russian black-and-white films Russian World War II films Soviet black-and-white films Soviet war films Soviet World War II films Mosfilm films