Morozko

Did not see the English edition, and happy about it. Being 100% fluent in both Russian and English, I cringe thinking how mangled a translation can get either way. Especially if the original is real heavy on cultural lore. I did watch and love the Russian movie - as little kid, and as a grown-up. This movie has very little 'Soviet' in it, really. It does promote the basic human values of being kind, brave, honest, polite etc, but is fully based on ancient Russian fairy tales. Slavic culture is thousands of years old, and these tales are on par with Kalevala, Ramayana, Beowulf, Iliad and other ancient epics.

To great credit of communist rule, the cultural background awareness was not suppressed, but strengthened and encouraged during Soviet era. Books were printed, movies were made; ancient Russian literature and history were studied in schools. Like many other European cultures, Russians preserved their identity. This movie is something they IDENTIFY with. In fact, any culturally educated person - not necessarily Russian - will recognize this movie for what it is and respect it.

I saw this film when I was probably seven years old, a few years after it was released with English dubbed into it. I saw it in the theatre with my sister's Brownie troop, and I recall it as being fantastical in nature, but, as a child, I loved that sort of thing. I loved the living house with feet, the mushroom man (who reminded me of a character from Fantasia,) and the beautiful Nastenka. This is a Romeo and Juliet story with all of the details borrowed from the Brothers Grimm and Russian fairy tales. I am sure, if I saw this as an adult, it might seem rather disjointed, but as a kid, I loved it. I saw it again a few years after the theatre release, as a Sunday afternoon television movie, and enjoyed it just as much, as an older child. Perhaps kids today would be too sophisticated to enjoy it - but I enjoyed it enough to look it up on IMDb.

For all of you, who think this movie is stupid, just because it doesn´t fit into your watching habits:

Is it bizarre? Of course it is, but check these really old German, French or English tales and legends. I wonder what you´d say to the original Brothers Grimm collection. I think that´s also the problem with understanding, the people of America simply don´t have this part of culture, because it comes directly from the medieval age.

The story has its roots so far away, so deep in the Slav history, that if Hollywood would like to make something comparable, they´d have to steal the story from some ancient native American tribe.

Nothing terrible will not see. For the Russians it is a very good tale, many were brought up on it. And no, that everything went crazy. Remember Pushkin's fairy tales: "There on unknown paths of the Traces unseen animals; the hut there on chicken legs It is worth without Windows, without doors". Every child knows, walking the houses,the trees, talking mushrooms, flying on a broomstick the witch Baba-Yaga is a fairy tale! What the wizard is a mushroom turned hero to bear, in a fairy tale wanted to show that rude and boasters it is bad. And let's not forget that this is all the 1964 year. What in those years, the special effects?

The movie is wonderful. It is delightful and charming. Yes, it is pretty old and "computer graphics" cannot compete with the latest "Star Wars" edition. So what? It is a real pleasure to watch this movie regardless of your age if you are connected with (or interested in) Russian culture.

Just a few words for those who suggest to burn it. Guys, what way are you better than Nazis who burnt the books they didn't understand or accept?

Some more for the others. Please don't treat it as Finnish. Finland has its own fabulous culture, but it has very little in common with this movie. It is all Russian. Well, some motives are similar to those found in other nations fairy tales. I guess anyone acquainted with different peoples tales was amazed how much in common they had regardless of geographical location. Dear Americans, some things in this movie came from ancient Slavic tribes legends, thousand years before Columbus birth. Don't misunderstand me here, I have no intention to proclaim any culture to be superior than another one, I just want to explain some difficulties you can encounter while trying to understand this movie. They can be really overwhelming, but still not the reason to refute a different vision of the world. Please don't treat this movie as a documentary as well, it is a fairy tale without any claim for realism.

A final bit of advice if you please: if you watch Morozko once more don't strain your mind, rely on your feelings and impressions instead, try to empathize, not to rebuff. Actually this is applicable to almost everything Russian...