Flight Over the Soviet Union

This film (drama)Also known asWhite Nights，is aUnited StatesProducerwomen sex，At1985Released in year 。The dialogue language isEnglish, Russian，Current Douban rating7.9(For reference only)。

A ballerina from the former Soviet Union boards a plane hijacked to the Soviet Union. After landing, he is placed under house arrest in an apartment where a black man and his Russian wife reside. He is forced to return to perform as a dancer for the Bolshoi Ballet, with only one thing on his mind: escape... This film tells the legendary story of a Russian dance artist. The male lead, the famous Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, delivers breathtaking performances that stir deep emotions—it's a white night under the spotlight, just as endless, borderless, and timeless, a grayness seen through the eyes of a mentally ill person, with only one spinning shadow racing across the stage as a highlight. Baryshnikov has expressive facial features, naturally curly blonde hair, and a not-tall but muscular physique. He possesses a genius-like passion and skill, as well as an extraordinary ability to spin quickly, maintaining his balance no matter where he leaps... The film not only showcases Baryshnikov's captivating performances but also features the beautiful face of Isabella Rossellini, daughter of the famous actress Ingrid Bergman. The film's theme song "Say You, Say Me," performed by renowned black singer Lionel Richie, became a worldwide hit and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 58th Oscars in 1985. In pursuit of artistic freedom, internationally acclaimed Soviet ballet dancer Nikolai Dolgorukov escaped to the United States eight years ago under the pretext of seeking political asylum. Once, during a trip to Japan for a performance, a malfunction forced their plane to land at a Soviet military airport in Siberia. The Soviet authorities allowed everyone else on the plane to leave but kept Nikolai behind, signaling both domestically and internationally that the defector had changed his political beliefs and returned to his homeland. To persuade Nikolai, Colonel Cheiko from the KGB brought in Raymond Greenwood, an American tap dancer who had fled to the Soviet Union to protest against America's invasion of Vietnam. Unable to understand why each other fled their respective countries, Nikolai and Raymond initially harbored hostility and resentment, but gradually became friends as they learned more about one another. Nikolai agreed to return to the Kirov Ballet, intending to find an opportunity to escape again. Raymond's position changed, and he successfully helped Nikolai escape the Soviet Union, but he was arrested in the process. Raymond was treated as a hostage and exchanged for another captured Soviet spy, returning to America. This anti-Soviet Cold War film is a highly skilled production from Hollywood. Although the story is somewhat cliché, it is very engaging: a Soviet defector escapes to the West while an American defector, disillusioned, escapes to the Soviet Union. "White night" serves as a metaphor, referring both to the sun that never sets north of the Soviet Arctic Circle and also to a true nightmare that occurs in daylight—terrifying because of its absurd brightness. Mikhail Baryshnikov, who defected from the Soviet Union, plays the role of Nikolai Dolgorukov; his motives for fleeing are similar to those of the character he portrays: a quest for artistic freedom. It seems that artists must make a choice between their homeland and their art. Although this film is not his autobiography, Mikhail brings the character to life with a resonant performance drawn from similar experiences, making it compelling and convincing.