''Tzadik'' (russian: Праведник, Pravednik, known as ''The Righteous'' in English) is a 2023 Russian World War II film directed by

Sergei Ursuliak Sergei Vladimirovich Ursuliak (russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Урсуля́к; born June 10, 1958, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) is a Russian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor, TV presenter. Filmography Director * '' Russian ...

. The

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...

film is based on the real story of the Soviet partisan officer the Avenger detachment, Nikolai Kiselev (played by

Aleksandr Yatsenko Aleksandr Viktorovich Yatsenko (russian: Алекса́ндр Ви́кторович Яце́нко; born 22 May 1977) is a Russian actor. He appeared in more than thirty films since 2003. Selected filmography References External links * ...

), who saved over 200 Jews from the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s in World War II. This film was theatrically released on February 16, 2023.

Plot

The film takes place in 1942, during 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), an ...

(World War II). The film is based on real events that took place during the Second World War between August and October 1942, when Russian soldier and Soviet partisan officer Nikolai Kiselev rescued 2018 Jews from

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

. The story begins when Kiselev receives the order to evacuate over two hundred Jews, including old men, women and children, from Belorussian-occupied territories behind the

front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or unin ...

s, after

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

had declared Belarus a Jew-free (''judenfrei'') territory. The emaciated people, tormented by hunger and fear, who had lost their relatives and had almost lost their minds from the horror they experienced, would have to walk hundreds of kilometres through the forest paths to recover the faith and hope of a better world.

Cast

as Captain Nikolay Kiselyov (soldier),

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

officer, commander of a partisan detachment (Nikolai Kiselev in English) * Sergei Makovetsky as Ruvim Yankel *

Fyodor Dobronravov Fyodor Viktorovich Dobronravov (russian: Фёдор Викторович Добронравов; born 11 September 1961) is a Soviet and Russian stage and cinema actor, Honored Artist of Russia (2002), People's Artist of Russia (2011).Konstantin Khabensky Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky, PAR (russian: link=no, Константин Юрьевич Хабенский; born 11 January 1972) is a Russian actor of stage and film, director and philanthropist. From 1997 he was part of the Saint Petersbur ...

as Avigdor *

Chulpan Khamatova Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova PAR (russian: Чулпан Наилевна Хаматова; tt-Cyrl, Чулпан Наил кызы Хаматова; born 1 October 1975) is a Russian film, theater and TV actress Biography Early life and theat ...

as Rita

Production

The film was directed by

. It was a joint production of WeiT Media, Central Partnership,

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

's Studio TriTe, and the

Russia-1 Russia-1 (russian: Россия-1) is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship ch ...

TV channel, with the support of the Cinema Fund and the Kievskaya Ploshchad Group of Companies.

Filming locations

Location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

process took place on August 5, 2021. It took place in the village of Zabrodje,

Vileyka District Vileyka District is the second-level administrative subdivision ( raion) of Belarus in the north-west of Minsk Region. The capital of the town is Vileyka. Notable residents * Janka Filistovič (1926, Paniacičy village - 1953), active part ...

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, the cities of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

, and

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, a ...

in Russia, and in Israel. In Belarus, the film team worked exactly in those places where historical events unfolded.

Release

On February 8, 2023, the premiere of the film took place at the Karo 11 October cinema center on

New Arbat Avenue New Arbat Avenue (russian: link=no, Новый Арбат) is a major street in Moscow running west from Arbatskaya Square on the Boulevard Ring to Novoarbatsky Bridge on the opposite bank of the Moskva River. The modern six-lane avenue (originall ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The film premiered on February 15, 2023 in

at the

Lenfilm Lenfilm (russian: link=no, Ленфильм) is a Russian production company with its own film studio located in Saint Petersburg (the city was called Leningrad from 1924 to 1991, thus the name). It is a corporation with its stakes shared betwee ...

cinema, and the film was released in the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

on February 16, 2023 by Central Partnership.

Reception

The film enjoyed great success at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

References

External links

Official website
* {{IMDb title, 20259704, Tzadik 2023 films 2020s Russian-language films 2020s historical drama films 2020s war drama films Russian historical drama films Russian war drama films Russian World War II films Films shot in Belarus Films produced by Nikita Mikhalkov Holocaust films