- The Hero of the Soviet Union becomes a GULAG prisoner and then an Indian Chief.
- When the Soviet troops freed Ivan from the Nazi prison, he was charged with high treason and was facing long years in Siberian camps. Ivan did not want to die behind barbed wire or wait for an amnesty. Once he got an opportunity, he escaped from his camp. He was hunted high and low like the most wanted criminal and there was no place for him in the USSR. Based on the historical realities of those times, the film unfolds before the viewer a credible sequence of events that turned the Hero of the Soviet Union into a GULAG prisoner and then an Indian Chief. That is why the name Ivan Datsenko had to be changed for another - Firecrosser.—Andriy Suyarko
- The film Firecrosser by Mukhailo Illenko is the true story of Ivan Dodoka, a Ukrainian pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, who went missing in a sortie. Then he was betrayed by his old friend, lost the girl he loved, spent years in concentration camps and wanderings, and his only desire was to avenge for his stolen happiness. Finally, he joined an Iroquois tribe in Canada. How did he get there? What made the hero leave his homeland, adopt a foreign culture and learn a new language? While still a flying cadet, Ivan falls in love with Lyuba, a nurse. She gives him her heart, but their love becomes fatal for other characters of story. Ivans best friend Stepan is in love with Lyuba and would stop at nothing years of friendship, moral principles, or honor of an officer. The sharp angles of this classical love triangle hurt other characters who just as well need and deserve love, happiness, and respect. Ivan and Lyuba suffer from fear and estrangement, betrayal and indifference, jealousy and cruelty. Sometimes they seem to be unable to live without suffering. And they do have to suffer and prove their courage, honesty, and loyalty. Ivan escapes from a camp and Stepan assures Lyuba that Ivan was killed in action and there is no use looking or waiting for him. At the same time, Stepan is hunting high and low for his former friend. Ivan is aware of the lethal danger but longs to see his love. In search of Lyuba, Ivan suddenly meets her father. Saving Ivan from NKVD bloodhounds, the old man gets killed. Ivan crosses his Rubicon and flies away through lands and time. In the end, he becomes almost unrecognizable. Ivan finds the strength and courage to start a new life. The film Firecrosser is not about war, but about human fates, love and devotion, friendship and betrayal, moral values, and hidden reserves of a human heart that make a true hero - loving, winning, and living a bright life.
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By what name was ToyKhtoProyshovKrizVohon (2011) officially released in Canada in English?
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