Preparing on Christmas Day to watch Christian-Jaque's magnificent The Killing of Santa Claus (1941-also reviewed) again, I searched for a title to double bill it with. Finding The Scarlet Flower (1978-also reviewed) an alluring Fantasy film from the Soviet Union that I viewed earlier this year,I was very happy to stumble on a X-Mas themed Soviet Fantasy title, which led to me going back to the night before.
View on the film:
Continuing a run of Fantasy titles, auteur writer/director Aleksandr Rou enchants with an utterly delight Christmas atmosphere, spun by Rou & cinematographer Dmitri Surensky weaving the camera down the streets of the snow-covered village.
Gliding by on a 66 minute runtime, Rou rolls into the surreal with sparks of primary colours shimmering on the screen from lush dissolves, and Rou skillfully blending rustic Comedy into the tale, such as the cute, mischievous Devil being used as a mode of transport. Sending Vakula out to find the Tsaritsa's slippers for his love Oksana, the screenplay by Rou's adaptation of Nikolay Gogol is strung with whimsical flourishes which thread Vakula and the Devil into the bustling small-town dramas, as the locals prepare on the night before Christmas.
View on the film:
Continuing a run of Fantasy titles, auteur writer/director Aleksandr Rou enchants with an utterly delight Christmas atmosphere, spun by Rou & cinematographer Dmitri Surensky weaving the camera down the streets of the snow-covered village.
Gliding by on a 66 minute runtime, Rou rolls into the surreal with sparks of primary colours shimmering on the screen from lush dissolves, and Rou skillfully blending rustic Comedy into the tale, such as the cute, mischievous Devil being used as a mode of transport. Sending Vakula out to find the Tsaritsa's slippers for his love Oksana, the screenplay by Rou's adaptation of Nikolay Gogol is strung with whimsical flourishes which thread Vakula and the Devil into the bustling small-town dramas, as the locals prepare on the night before Christmas.