Paper Soldier
# Paper Soldier

Paper Soldier (Russian: Бумажный солдат) is a 2008 Russian drama film directed by Aleksey German Jr. For his film, German received the Silver Lion and Golden Osella for Best Cinematography from the 66th Venice Film Festival.

## Plot

The film tells about the doctor Daniil Pokrovsky, who is preparing the squad of the first cosmonauts for spacewalk.

The title is a reference to a Russian song about a soldier who bravely steps into a fire, unaware that he's actually just a toy made of paper.

## Cast

* Merab Ninidze as Doctor Daniil Pokrovsky
* Chulpan Khamatova as Nina, Daniil's Wife
* Anastasiya Shevelyova as Vera
* Aleksandr Glebov as David
* Ruslan Ibragimov as Adrian Nikolayev
* Fyodor Lavrov as German Titov
* Polina Filonenko as Misha's Friend
* Valentin Kuznetsov as Yuri Gagarin
* Kirill Ulyanov as Garik
* Ramil Salakhutdinov as Misha

## Reception

Slant Magazine said that the film "harkens back to Russian cinema of the ’60s" and gave it 3.5 of 4 stars. The review called Merab Ninidze's performance (as Doctor Daniil Pokrovsky) "mesmerizing" and the cinematography "exquisite" in a "tightly paced drama."

