Firecrosser (the original title is The One who Went Through the Fire) deals with a real caracter, Ivan Datsenko. He was born in 1918 in the village of Chernichy Yar, district of Dykanka, Ukraine. A veterinarian by profession, he was drafted into the Red Army and graduated in 1940 from the School of Aviation at Orenburg. He served as fighter and bomber pilot and was awarded many decorations, among them the Order of the Red Banner and the coveted title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1943.
Datsenko was shot down in 1943 over the Western Ukraine, near the city of Lviv. The Soviet Government declared "he died a hero's death." His memory was venerated during and after the war, although the attitude of the Soviet government towards Datsenko was curiously ambivalent; probably there was a secret order to play down these commemorations.
In the eighties there were rumors that Datsenko did not actually die in 1943 but was taken prisoner by the Germans and had a second life in Canada in rather unusual circumstances. This was later corroborated by witnesses (although there never was absolute proof). This movie reconstructs Datsenko's life, perhaps fancifully at times. Actors as well as production values (cinematography, special effects, music) are excellent. Director Illienko moves the story along with good pacing; the only (minor) objection could be that, at times, one may have some difficulty telling what actually happens and what happens only in the mind of a character (this probably would be clarified by a second viewing). This movie is well worth watching and shows that the level of the Ukrainian film industry is up to the best in the world.
