Charodei

Yes, the movie is not at all faithful to the book. Yes, it has a cheesy plot, low-budget cinematography and 19th century special effects. But none of these things can take away from the charm of this picture. The acting is simple and the actors are adorable (young Abdulov rocks!). Many of the lines from the movie have since become everyday phrases (eg: "Nu ktozh tak stroit!") and several of the songs immortal ("Pesenka pro kostyumchik," "Tri Belix Konya"). And the sentimental value of the good ol' Soviet rudeness and bureaucracy is immeasurable.

If you understand Russian, have spent any time in USSR, and love fairy tales for adults, you'll love this movie.

This movie is a modern fairy tale. The story happens in an institute of magic during Christmas time. the girl (Alena) is supposed to marry to Ivan. However, an envious person makes to think to her boss that Alena is in love with the boy friend of the boss in question, who decides to bewitch Alena. The only way to save her is to be kissed by Ivan. I liked this movie because of the humorous way of presenting the intrigue. It is amusing and refreshing. The dialogs and expressions are funny.

Even if you are not Russian yourself, or speak little of it, you might find yourself captivated by Charodei. Being on a roll watching Russian cinema, especially fantasy, and also studying Russian as part of my vocal studies music degree, Charodei certainly was captivating for this viewer. It looks beautiful, especially the snowy scenery in the second half of the film, and the mix of Russian fantasy elements and the modern world were intriguingly and lovingly juxtaposed. The music is nice and quirky, fitting well with the tone of the film, while the songs are catchy and very Russian(I for one love Russian songs). Particularly good is the song about the three horses, apparently the songs were hits back in 1982 and if so for very good reason. The dialogue is snappy and quotable, with subtitles for the non-Russian viewer it's easier to understand but the facial expressions and the acting give you an indication of what is being said. You have got to love the surnames of the characters too, very clever. The story is told in a very charming way. As well as having great mystical fantasy elements, Charodei works wonders too as a romantic comedy. The romance is sweet without being cloying, and the comedy is genuinely very funny. The characters are endearing, and the acting showcases actors that are as comfortable at comedy as they are in drama as well. Overall, beautiful, funny and very clever film. If you wish to see Charodei if you haven't already the whole film's on Youtube but under the Russian-phonetics-alphabet title. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is a movie loosely based on the novel written by the Strugatsky brothers "Monday Begins on Saturday". It`s pretty far from the original text and that`s why all Russian SF fans are not happy with. But the script is also written by the Strugatskys, so I think it`s fair to write a new story rather than use the existed one. If one can "forget" about the book while watching this movie it is fairly witty, funny and kind love story. The songs became hits back in 1982. The cast is wonderful, basically every face you see in this movie is a famous actor or actress. Most of the cast are brilliant dramatic or character actor/actress. There are also lots of Soviet lifestyle in-jokes, which you understand only if you are a Russian over 15 years old (the younger ones don`t remember the Soviet reality). The movie is worthy a watch.

Musical comedy. A free adaptation of the story "Monday Starts on Saturday" by Soviet and Russian science fiction writers, the Strugatsky brothers, who were responsible for the script here and revised their original source, so acquaintance with the story is not required to view this masterpiece of Soviet cinema. I heard many great reviews about this picture, and my family and in general strongly recommended me to see it, and this time I could not resist - and was again pleasantly surprised. And here's my brief opinion - Save love before the New Year. I did not find any flaws in the picture, but this cynical and picky brute who writes these lines has remarks that he will express in a separate paragraph, but for now he will focus your attention on the expressive merits of this musical comedy. So, here they are: 1. The story told - in a world where magic, Russian folk traditions, coexists with the real world, the most common story takes place - deceit destroys love, and Alyonushka forgets her beloved Ivanushka. Injustice! Meanness! It is necessary to rectify the situation, because soon the New Year is the time when the most unrealizable dreams come true. That's right - a love story awaits us again, which must overcome many obstacles, both from real life and magical, which complicates the task. Friends will help Ivan in this. It is not worth spreading about the finale, because who has not watched it - look, and if you watched it, then you already know everything, and reconsider it again (where are you going!). I was completely delighted with the story, and was looking forward to the denouement and enjoying the acting of the whole galaxy of talents that is in this picture. If you are tired of a banal love story - then you definitely come here! 2. Cat - just don't laugh, I really liked the cat and I included him in the list of the picture's advantages. Why? Firstly, he is voiced by Georgy Vitsin (although most of the material did not make it into the final version of the picture), and secondly, he has a smooth coat with a smooth coat, and he looks impressive. And it will still play its role in history. 3. Songs - "Three white horses", "A song about a snowflake", "Witch-river", "A song about a suit" - I heard these songs many times in everyday life, but only now I found out where they came from, and why they found such a nationwide love, if even after forty years (let's round up) people sing them. I was completely delighted with both this discovery and the songs themselves. Simple words, great rhyme, great actors and singers. 4. Humor - since we called ourselves "comedy", then laugh - and it succeeded. Maybe jokes and funny situations here do not shine with philosophical meaning and partly originality, but to say that they do not work is to lie to people and to yourself. In a couple of moments he laughed out loud, the rest - a slight smile and short chuckles. The humor here rather serves as an addition to the story. 5. Wonderful actors - Tatiana Vasilyeva, Valery Zolotukhin, Emmanuil Vitorgan, Semyon Farada, Mikhail Svetin, and I did not list all of them. Since such mastodons were called, then the picture of the opriore should not have failed. A theater school is a theater school! Real masters of transformation play here. A little about the main characters: 1. Alena (Alyonushka) Sanina performed by Alexandra Yakovleva - an employee of the Scientific Universal Institute of Extraordinary Services (abbreviated as NUINU), who was supposed to marry Ivanushka, but cunning and witchcraft confused these plans. Now she is a predator and a careerist, or in Russian a bitch who must be saved as soon as possible. Alexandra was delightful in this role, especially the song "River Witch". 2. Ivan (Ivanushka) Pukhov is an ordinary Moscow guy who loves Alyonushka and is ready to do everything for her that he has to prove in order to cast a spell on his beloved and as soon as possible. Kind, sensitive, bold and a little reckless, Alexander turned out to be a hero, but so attractive that it is impossible to forget. Bravo! 3. Apollo Sataneev performed by Valentin Gaft is a high-ranking employee of NUINU who wants to get to the very top of the institute. An opportunist, a gossip, a scoundrel, an insidious tempter, drying up Alyonushka. From the very first appearance in the frame, it evokes extremely bad emotions. The remarkable and talented Soviet and Russian actor Valentin Iosifovich Gaft, who left us quite recently (the Earth rest in peace to him and the Kingdom of Heaven), played here the role of a scoundrel careerist and opportunist, of whom there were plenty then and now. The image is bright and memorable. Bravo Valentin Iosifovich! Bravo! Bravo! Now about the comments (how dare he !?): a chaotic beginning, from which nothing is clear and what to expect from the picture. At first I was confused and thought that I was mistaken with the choice of the picture, but soon my suspicions were dispelled. The rest of the songs, with the exception of the above, I did not like, well, not at all. Excuse me, I say it as it is. The picture, and although I looked at the restored version, the picture is not perfect, and in moments of magic it hurts the eye. And you can close your eyes to this. Well, you can live with it! And once again I am convinced that a woman should not be a leader, except as a household, because extreme emotionality, although quickly passing, can do a lot of misfortunes. As a result, we have an excellent musical comedy based on the story of the Strugatsky brothers, with an excellent script, great humor, magnificent songs and wonderful and unique acting works! My rating is 10 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!