Tale of a True Man (Russian: Повесть о настоящем человеке) is a Soviet feature film directed by Aleksandr Stolper, shot on the same name book by Boris Polevoy.

[2] In March 1942, during an aerial battle near the Demyansk Pocket, Soviet fighter pilot Alexei Maresyev is shot down, and his plane crashes into a dense forest.

Sharing his hospital room is Commissar Vorobyov, a severely wounded but optimistic man who inspires his fellow patients with tales of resilience, such as the story of Nikolai Ostrovsky, who wrote How the Steel Was Tempered while paralyzed.

At a medical review, he impresses the doctors by energetically performing a traditional Russian dance, the "Barynya," earning their approval to return to duty.

Rejoining the frontlines, Maresyev demonstrates his prowess in combat, shooting down two Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters flown by German aces and rescuing a younger comrade during a daring mission.