Paper Soldier (Russian: Бумажный солдат) is a 2008 Russian drama film directed by Aleksey German Jr.^[1][2][3] For his film, German received the Silver Lion and Golden Osella for Best Cinematography from the 66th Venice Film Festival.^[4]

The film tells about the doctor Daniil Pokrovsky, who is preparing the squad of the first cosmonauts for spacewalk.^[5]

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.^[6]

• 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^[7]

Slant Magazine said that the film "harkens back to Russian cinema of the ’60s" and gave it 3.5 of 4 stars.^[6] The review called Merab Ninidze's performance (as Doctor Daniil Pokrovsky) "mesmerizing" and the cinematography "exquisite" in a "tightly paced drama."^[6]