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

Sergei Ursuliak Sergei Vladimirovich Ursuliak (; born 10 June 1958) is a Russian film director and screenwriter. He is known for the films ''Composition for Victory Day'' (1996) and ''Long Farewell'' (2004), and the TV series ''Liquidation (miniseries), Liquida ...

. The

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film is based on the real story of the

Soviet partisan Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ac ...

officer the Avenger detachment, Nikolai Kiselev (played by

Aleksandr Yatsenko Aleksandr Viktorovich Yatsenko (; born 22 May 1977) is a Russian actor. He appeared in more than thirty films since 2003. Selected filmography References External links * 1977 births Living people Actors from Volgograd Russian m ...

), who saved over 200 Jews from the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

(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

officer Nikolai Kiselev rescued 218 Jews from

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

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

Belorussia Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

n-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 Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to ...

s, after

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

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, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

officer, commander of a partisan detachment (Nikolai Kiselev in English) *

Sergei Makovetsky } Sergei Vasilievich Makovetsky (, born 13 June 1958) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Ukrainian-born Russian film and stage actor. His work as an actor has won him 11 awards and a further 15 nominations. Selected filmography Film *1989: ''The ...

as Ruvim Yankel *

Fyodor Dobronravov Fyodor Viktorovich Dobronravov (; born 11 September 1961) is a Soviet and Russian stage and cinema actor, Honored Artist of Russia (2002), People's Artist of Russia (2011).

as Voronyansky, commander of the partisan detachment People's Avengers * Yevgeny Tkachuk as Nikishin (Ferz) *

Doval'e Glickman Dov Glickman (; born 22 December 1949) is an Israeli film, television and theatre actor. Biography Dov Glickman was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a secular Jewish family. His Russian Jewish parents Shlomo and Dvora immigrated to the Land of Israe ...

as Moshe Tal ** Mark Eidelstein as Moshe Tal in his youth * Yuliya Vetruk as Lyubov * Lyubov Konstantinova as Anna Sirotina * Maria Zolotukhina as Tova Lipnitskaya * Ronald Pelin as Yoni Hirschmann *

Konstantin Khabensky Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky, People's Artist of Russia, PAR (; born 11 January 1972) is a Russian actor of stage and film, director and philanthropist. From 1997 he was part of the Saint Petersburg Lensoviet Theatre cast until 2000, after whi ...

as Avigdor *

Chulpan Khamatova Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova (; ; , born 1 October 1975) is a Russian actress. Biography Early life and theater career Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova was born on 1 October 1975 in Kazan, Tatar ASSR, in what was then the Soviet Union. Her parents Mar ...

as Rita

Production

The film was directed by

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

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (; born 21 October 1945) is a Russian filmmaker and actor. He made his directorial debut with the Red Western film ''At Home Among Strangers'' (1974) after appearing in a series of films, including the romantic com ...

's Studio TriTe, and the

Russia-1 Russia-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 channel of the All-Russia ...

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

Filming locations

Location filming Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

process took place on August 5, 2021. It took place in the village of Zabrodje, Vileyka District, Minsk Region in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, the cities of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

, and

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

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 () 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 eight-lane avenue (originally named Kalinin Prospekt in 1968� ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The film premiered on February 15, 2023 in

at the

Lenfilm Lenfilm (, acronym of Leningrad Films) is a Russian production and distribution 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 s ...

cinema, and the film was released in the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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, wicket. ...

References

External links

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