Obyknovennoe chudo

A beautiful film with great actors. A magician turns a bear into a young man who must kiss a princess in order to turn back into a bear. Leonov is hilarious as the King.

Based on a play by Yevgeniy Shwartz, one of the best Russian playwrights of the 20th century, made by one of the best directors of the Soviet epoch with an unprecedented all-stars cast, this movie has instantly become a classic of Russian cinema and theatre alike. Critics may point out various flaws in it, still it is indispensable for anyone who is out to understand Russian culture a bit more, or just for anyone, I might add.

The only reason that I'm ranking it 9 instead of 10 is that fact that it's... not actually a movie.

It's based on a theatre play, directed by a theatre director, and it shows in everything: the dialogue, the set, the scenes, the costumes, the actors often talking and looking directly at the audience... However, if you're willing to disregard that little detail and instead watch it as a recorded theatre play, it's an absolutely breathtaking experience.

The movie is based on the play of the same name by Evgenyi Shvartz, one of the most significant Russian The story is painfully simple: two young people fall in love, even though they cannot be together. The literal magic and the magic of being human twist together to make a beautiful plot about love out of this world. People born in the Soviet Union know the iconic songs and quotes from this movie by heart. The cast is stellar, although a few of them are first and foremost theatre actors, which, again, shows.

The film An Ordinary Miracle IS a miracle, an extraordinary miracle, born in the harmonious union of cinema and theater. It mixes magically the elements of elegant Comedy Del Arte, not just one but three beautiful romances, hilarious and unforgettable characters, humor, satire, the dialogs and quotes that have become the part of every day conversations in all Post Soviet Russian speaking countries, and colorful musical fairy tale. It was made 33 years ago, but it is as fabulous and modern as ever, and it does not age at all. Miracles never do. No matter how many years have passed, it will always be difficult to be a real man, and always will be tedious to prove that you are worthy of your fame. And while there is humanity, "Glory to brave who dare to love, knowing that this will come to an end. Thank to madmen who live, as if they were immortal."

I saw this miracle of fantasy, music, romance, and comedy dozens of times and thought that I knew it almost by heart. But earlier today, while re-watching it after many years for the first time, I realized clearly that that the entire film, all this glorious extravaganza is the anthem to love and passion of a creator to the process of creation, to fantasy, dreams, the flights of imagination that give birth to miracles and give us the joy to witness and admire them. The film belongs to two wizards, the miracle-workers. One, in the amazing performance by Oleg Yankovki, is the screen wizard whose love for his wife and imagination brought to live the story and the characters and turned their lives upside down, sending them to the roads they never dreamed of going. He held the fate of all characters, but gave them the choices that would change them forever. The other wizard is the Master behind the scenes, Marc Zakharov, whose talent, creativity, and vision made the miracle possible. Everything in it is magical: the score and songs by G. Gladkov are so unique and memorable,they deserve separate and long conversation, as well as festive Masquerade/carnival atmosphere, bitter-sweet love stories (not one but three), and the amazing performance by all actors without exception. The best the film could be defined by the very first line of the main song, the Wizard's song: "absurd, ridiculous, foolish, crazy, magical".

This is one of the best masterpieces of world cinema, despite the extreme simplicity of both the plot and the simplicity of the effects inside the film. The plot takes place in just a few rooms and is essentially a theatrical production.

Little known outside the Russian cultural space, it is easy to watch with the current development of new digital means of automatic translation.

Although based on a trivial story, the development of the plot is captivating. Excellent multi-level humor, which can be understood better in adulthood - having watched it at 10, 25 and 40 years old, different levels of subtext are revealed and the film is understood in a new way.

Although not necessary, knowledge of the Russian language will help to understand the beauty of the play on words and musical compositions.