''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
The 1st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 3 to 17 August 1959. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Soviet film ''Destiny of a Man'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk.
Jury
* Sergei Gerasimov (USSR - President of the Jury)
* Antonin Br ...
.
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
*
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 ...
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 fai ...
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