Mermaid: Lac des âmes perdues

This was a good interpretation. It's the type of movie that I hope opens the imagination to it's viewers and allows you to believe in the unbelievable -if only for a moment. Even though I only viewed this film because it relates to my career field as a mermaid, I liked the feel of the project and can tell this one might have taken a while to plan and come up with. It is more of an adult type of audience more than what you might imagine and if you are hoping for an actual mermaid like in Disney you will be sadly disappointed. Not every film needs to be a replica of the next and this goes into its own direction and interpretation of how to use the word mermaid to tie in it's storyline.

Mermaid is an awesomely bizarre tale of a strange girl called Alisa, who, as a little girl, lives by the beach with her comically grotesque mother and grandmother and pines for her father to come and rescue her . Later on in her life she is forced to confront reality when she travels to Moscow with her family, and as a teenager, finds out all about all the wonders of the world, including love, jobs and friendship, all seen through an impossibly optimistic and offbeat sensibility. Mermaid plays like the second coming of Amelie, and everything about it is utterly charming; the fantastically upbeat, jazzy score, the dreamy cinematography tinged with realism, the quirky scenarios, but mostly the utterly charismatic and awesome central performances from the two girls playing Alisa, who like Audrey Tatou before them, will make you fall in love. Alisa is such an endearingly odd character, charmingly offbeat and naive, while remaining startlingly independent and fierce. A last act stumble provoked by a tangle of superfluous characters dampens the charm of the film somewhat,and it meanders in parts, but on the whole Mermaid is an almost note-perfect film that will leave you with a dreamy smile on your face and a longing for days of lost innocence.

This film is one more must see Film! I saw trailer few month before and realized that it could be a good film. So it started from 22 Nov in the Ukraine's cinema. This film type is Drama but there are lot of fun issues and new ideas. I was impressed as Mariya Shalayeva play Alisa and as you can see from awards list she won 'Best Actress' award at Sochi. I'm skeptic to the Russian films but this is one more film after which I had impression for the next 2 days. I want to write about this now! It exceed my expectations! I recommend this film for any people ages except children's! And I'm waiting next films from Mariya Shalayeva and Anna Melikyan. I hope they will be great too!

For whatever reason, Americans rarely are treated to Russian films, which is probably a great loss... certainly seems so after seeing the film "Mermaid." With a quirky story line and a very compelling opening sequence (great graphics!), it's a combination of incredible acting by the two actresses who play the lead character at different ages as well as the supporting cast and creative directing that make this worth watching. Not wanting to give anything away, I'll just say that my family enjoyed this film very much - but nothing prepared us for the ending. Highly recommend. (I reserved one star because I would have liked to see some creative cinematography of the Russian countryside; nevertheless, seeing Moscow up close in film is a treat.)

Different movies would make a big buff out of you. Especially when they come from other countries. I've always had a craving for Russian films, with Mermaid, it can be perfect for people with big imaginations. Here you have a girl name Alice(Masha Shalayeva) who went through childhood going through different stages of life. When she was a young girl, she wanted to be a ballerina. That fell through because of her mother's indecisiveness. Whenever she had a man who wasn't her father, she would set fire to the place she lived. Going through silent stages, she makes everyone think she has a handicap. By the time she was older, she got through some things by chance, especially when one student dies in a freak accident. Then there was the time she left the house, and jumped in a saved him from drowning. After that, she fell in love with him, not knowing he was already taken. She saw the action between him and his girl, she said the same thing, only without causing arson. Alice made changes in her appearance and she still uses her imagination to fulfill her dreams. She may have the imagination, but her determination makes her relentless to the world. This movie makes some sense, and it gives some meaning throughout. I enjoyed it very much. I owe it all to Sundance. 5 Stars!