Musical, comedy. The picture produced by fascist Germany, which came to the Soviet Union as a trophy and was shown in cinemas of our huge country, and I learned about it thanks to a tiny episode from the magnificent Soviet detective series "The meeting place cannot be changed." As a result, I still looked at the picture - and was quite satisfied, although some moments were slightly strained. And here's my brief opinion for you - A red-haired impudent woman suits fate. There were both strengths and weaknesses in the picture, which must be mentioned. And here I finish such a long introduction, and get to the point.
So, strengths:
1. The scenario is 1944. Fascist Germany. Popular theater actress Julia, tired of the mundane roles of a "frivolous predator," runs away from her director for a short vacation. Through a chain of unforeseen and unpleasant circumstances, she finds herself visiting two mining engineers. The way to the house is temporarily cut off, so Yulia will have to spend some time with the engineers. But they are both men, and Julia is "bursting with fire". Perhaps during this time she will find her love, because both gentlemen are very worthy people. That's right, this is a light comedy about unexpected love with classic twists and lots of funny situations. The ending is predictable, but it doesn't make it bad. Good dialogues and prescribed characters allow the viewer to look into the soul of the characters and get into their thoughts, feelings and actions. Surprises are not worth waiting for, but for a pleasant evening in the company of a loved one is a good option.
2. Humor - as I have already said, there are a lot of funny situations in the picture that cause sincere laughter and even some emotion. Yes, it is not shipko original, but the classic templates here are well outplayed in the German way. Yes, there will be no wild laughter here, but it will definitely make you smile.
3. Atmosphere - although this comedy musical was able to create an easy and relaxed romantic atmosphere, completely removing even hints of politics (since it was the penultimate military year and everyone already understood that Germany would soon lose the war), it was not possible to completely escape from the realities of wartime (food only by distribution, the absence of any snacks in a restaurant, explosions taken by the heroine for shots), but not every viewer will even pay attention to this. Moreover, the picture was shot not even in Germany, but in Prague, the capital of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
4. Scenery - the creators managed to immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of a mountain adventure. Engineers' houses, furnishings, communication with the outside world, and so on. Of course, here and there combined shooting and even toy decorations come out, but this is 1944 and there were still such technologies, so this circumstance cannot be a minus a priori.
So, weaknesses:
1. Frivolity - it concerns musical numbers and many moments from the picture itself. The thing is, how to say it as correctly as possible, Julia Fraulyan often shows the viewer her "lower" dignity (only at these moments underwear is present on her, so it can't be called pornography), the first half of the picture she generally walks in a blouse and a chic fur coat. And in some moments she appears almost without clothes (one black dress from the final musical number is worth something, where her "upper dignity" is even visible). Don't get me wrong, I myself didn't mind looking at this beauty (yes, what can I say, Marika Reck in two words "girl-fire"), but from the point of view of the Soviet people of that time it was almost pornography. Why did Stalin's officials allow this picture to be rolled? After all, it is already clear from the first musical number that this is an "ideologically alien" picture to the Soviet viewer. But this did not prevent the "Girl of My Dreams" from becoming insanely popular until the mid-fifties. What to do, the forbidden fruit is sweet.
2. Tightness - it should be explained here that I really love the genre of musicals (one of the few in Russia, unfortunately), so I watched the musical numbers with the keenest interest, but they are the weakest point of the picture, because they are monstrously tightened. But I watched the full version of the picture, which lasts one hour and thirty-seven minutes. Here the middle looks very cheerful, but musical numbers are a sleepy potion that will put anyone to sleep.
A little about the main characters:
1. Julia, performed by Marika Reck, is a popular actress and singer with the role of a "predatory cat", who decided to take a break from everything and escape on a short vacation, in which there were two gentlemen, each better than the other, who are ready to shelter an accidental guest and, if possible, marry her to herself. And the heroine has to choose. She herself is an eccentric, slightly flighty Fraulein, not devoid of some advantages, and I'm not just talking about stunning looks here. And this role of Marika was a great success, and it is impossible to argue with these.
2. Peter, played by Wolfgang Luksha, is one of the engineers Julia visits. Quiet, rather unsociable and modest, openly despises the singer, which offends her dignity. Wolfgang played his hero perfectly and you sincerely empathize with him and rejoice in his moments of triumph.
3. Erwin, played by Walter Muller, is a second engineer who is also ready to shelter an unexpected guest. He behaves more openly and even intrusively than he insults Yulia, but flirting is flirting. Walter played a man with an open soul and also with a character.
I am really glad that I got acquainted with this picture, although the age limit should not be "12+" but "16+" because of the frivolous behavior of the main character.
As a result, we have a good musical comedy, with a good script, a light atmosphere, too long musical numbers, funny and funny humor, and good acting.
My rating is 7 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!
