Lo zar e la ballerina

The only strong part of the movie is it's visual: shooting, decorations, costumes and locations look excellent. The movie looks expensive, and it is.

It's fantastical new movie made by one of the best modern Russian director Aleksey Uchitel. Definitely, you can't recognised this movie as "the real" story - and so what? Yes, it's another beautiful fairy tail about Love, but how professionally it was done! Perfect costumes, perfect casting, perfect example of "virtual history" (sort of "virtual history" we all know from ancient classic Latin writers), very dynamic, very, very, very!

The main drama of the movie is the conflict between THE LOVE and THE ONUS, and if the Emperor of Russian Empire could have the choice in it (it's an ancient dilemma of the world: Love vs Onus).

IMHO all the scandal around this movie happened in Russia (organised by Orthodox church) is total fake and totally idiotic!

9 from 10 without any doubts! This movie must be seen! Thank you Mr. Uchitel!

Uchitel has made a few good movies but his last few films are pure junk. Pity!

If this movie is using real persons names, it shouldn't be so far from real facts. Sadly, it is from the very start, where Nicky faints during his wedding. Utter nonsense, as it is known that he was genuinely in love with Alix (that marriage did not made his mother happy as she hoped for better standing partner for him). It is funny to see ppl from Russia call Nicholas and Alexandra saints (they were a normal happy couple, just totally unfit for ruling, and victims of both their actions and historical events). Yet this movie really made even me angry. Why not take real facts which are interesting enough? Why make such a stupid script? Moreover, the actors don't resemble the people they are playing to the least.

The costumes, the atmosphere, the mixture of drama and tragic romance are seductive in high measure. but , for an Orthodox Christian like me, "Matilda"remains, more than a film, a terrible lie . sure, the term is not soft, but it represents a pure blasphemy. not only for the different image of a saint martyr. but for the desire of director to give a kitsch fairy tale, in impressive package/clothes, about a poor man under the hard times. "Matilda" propose an alternative story about Saint Nicholas II Romanov. and, if you see it as fiction, it works in some measure ( sure, if the expectations are low ). as portrait of the Tsar, it is a huge and impolite and absurde lie. but the success has not moral. and the ambition to propose something real strong, at the border of sacrilege, it is not exactly a surprise. because the soap operas ( "Matilda" is a slice from that genre ) are easy shows especially for the silly absurd stories. unfurnatelly, it is a real bad film.