Audience Member
SO Cute! (If not super depressing but that was to be expected.) Wonderfully shot, great underwater shots of mermaids swimming and Poseidon. Wonderful costumes, beautiful and charming cast... Russia in the 70s was so awesome for fantasy films.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I couldn't imagine a more beatific opening 15 minutes for a live action adaption of "The Little Mermaid".
All my hopes for a eastern European fantasia (this film was made as a collaboration between Bulgaria and USSR) came true, in bright multicolored fire-works, dreamy mermaids(whose costumes are a bit dated, but still oddly effective), lovely period costumes, and wondrous underwater photography(the merman with the violin will stay with my years).
Unfortunately things dry begin to dry up once our daughter of sea, reaches dry land to get her man.
The story is simple enough; girl rescues drowned sailor and falls in love with him, to become human she sells her most prized possession first her flowing green hair, and eventually her voice to an old witch.The prince has mistaken another princess as his savior, but is unmistakably drawn to our heroin. She has a sidekick in a village fool, whose simple stupid-heartedness is ultimately what saves her, sort of.
In any event it ain't the prince, and it's nice to see the ugly buffoon, usually the minor comic relief, take a place of mythological importance.
Still without animated talking fish pals backing her up, she can only take this so far.
The elegance of the waves gives way to the tediousness of courtly life, where contests and intrigues play themselves out, to their inevitable end. Which in keeping with the early accounts and legends, sees our girl facing a tragic end. My favorite version is where she turns into sea foam when she dies, and serves as an explanation for why the sea is so frothy.It sounds about right to me anyway.
It's over all a beautiful Soviet fairy tale, which should delight fans of fables, Han's Christian Anderson (one of my mother's favorite films was the 1952 Hans Christian Anderson, musical way, way, loosely inspired by his life), and fan's of Disney's "The Little Mermaid.
Those interested might wanna also check out this short Russian animated version of the same story from 1968 (of which this film is a more direct remake), here:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi6czbA1hoo
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiUarp9jJNg&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O331YUr2gI
Here's some fun facts from Wiki about the slavic equivalent of the mermaid called the Rusalka: "Though in some versions of the myth, the eyes shine like green fire, others describe them with extremely pale and translucent skin, and no visible pupils...According to some legends, should the rusalka's hair dry out, she will die...Men seduced by the rusalka could die in her arms, and in some versions hearing her laugh could also cause death....Specifics pertaining to rusalka differed within regions.....Although in most tales they lived without men, in Ukraine they were often linked with water, while in Belarus they were linked with the forest and field. Where land was fertile, the maidens appeared naked and beautiful. In harsher areas of Great Russia, they appeared as "large breasted amazons" (Hubbs). And often, in the north, they were ugly and covered in hair."
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Very, very strange but defintely a becautiful take on The Little Mermiad. The differences in the story (such as the alternative to death) and the amaxing costuming made this worth watching. I also liked the set up - story within the story - and how the listeners of the tale were in the same predicament as the fairy tale characters. The only thing lacking in this movie is the character development of the prince and mermaid. Even the minor characters are detailed and deep! Other than that, it was a great movie!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A decent movie that takes another stab at HC Andersen's masterpiece fairy tale. The movie does manage to be more true to the spirit of Andersen's story but there are parts where the special effects in particular fall short (granted it was made in the mid 70's) It had some nice haunting tunes and the little mermaid and prince were a nice pair--but I think this film lacked a bit more heart. It needed better character development for the two main characters.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/14/23
Full Review
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