Another recommendation from my mom. She loves this movie a lot, and I decided to check out why. Apparently, I couldn't understand it and found it boring.
So, it's the Russian empire during 18th century, the Yaguzhynskaya family is in trouble because they have different opinions, and they were supposed to be sent to Siberia. However, their daughter Anastasia was just sent under home arrest. Meanwhile, our main heroes Sasha Belov, Aleksey Korsak and Nikita Olenev have to find out what's going on and make sure she doesn't leave Russia with her new boyfriend from France name De Breli. So it's all about politics, love and patriotism. The movie is sadly not an engaging one. They were a couple of fight scenes with swords that were somewhat amusing and a couple of decent songs to spice the movie up. And sure, for soviet movie standards they were well done. But the real problem is the plot. I just couldn't get myself invested into it.
What's upsetting is that the main trio are one of the most boring protagonists I've ever seen. So Sasha is the romantic and confident type, Aleksey is the theatre kid and Nikita is the more serious and thoughtful one. In the right hands, they could've been really great and fleshed out. But that's not the case. They are pretty dull. And the actors who portray them aren't attractive either. Maybe it's because I'm used to Hollywood celebrities, however, I hated the makeup that used on them. They kinda look weird, especially Belov, who looks too feminine, at least in my opinion. Korsak perhaps looks the worst. I just hated his mole on his face and he just looked a little bit too old. Olenev looks the least ugly, he looks just fine. At least I can look at him and say he's okay. Too bad he got the least screen time. But for some reason, I liked the antagonist portrayed by Mikhail Boyarsky. His character is from France and when he meets Anastasia, he falls in love. But he only treats her as an item that he needs to take to Paris. Anastasia herself seems like a spoiled princess at first, but has a soft side deep inside! She actually looked gorgeous in this film. What's weird is that it explores the theme of abusive love well, which is something soviet movies would shy away. Sadly, some women and even men have been through this, where there partner would act nice only if they listen and obey them. Perhaps my favorite character is Sophie. She had the saddest backstory where she was mostly alone and became an orphan. In fact, she wanted to go to work as a nun, because she was so depressed. But when she met Aleksey, she started to see that the life isn't as bad as she thought. Sophie herself is a kind hearted and friendly girl. I mean, she's also cliched, but out of all the characters, she was the most developed.
The costumes themselves were decent enough. They look reminiscence of that century when Peter 1st left the throne and left it to Elizabeth 1st. Both male and female outfits look impressive. Except for the hats, which are more suitable for a witch Halloween costume for some reason. Also I liked the forest scenery. It definitely gives viewers a break from all the modern city noise and allows them to enter Russia of the past. Where the air was much cleaner, flowers were blooming and there were horses and carriages instead of cars. So, at least, it's atmosphere was well done. One more thing I'd like to mention is one scene, where De Breli experienced a russian tradition called Banya. I admit, this scene made me laugh hard, and it was one of the few good scenes. He thought that the water was too hot for his precious body, so he ran away like he was on fire.
Last, but not least, the songs. They were just like any other soviet movie song out there. Like the catchy theme song about friendship, another one about not giving up, the sweet serenade like song from the villain, explaining his love, the sad song about seperating and others. None of them are memorable, but at least they weren't terrible are were just fine.
I don't why I didn't like it, maybe I'm just not the right audience for this. But I do like other soviet films like Carnival night, Hearts of three, Girls, three in the boat not counting the dog and Trapped! Caucasian style. But the film was dull with bland protagonists, unamusing plot and songs that were just okay. I liked the female characters, the villain, some of the scenes, the scenery and the costumes though. I wouldn't recommend the film to anyone, since I don't think it's worth your time. The only exception I'll make, is if your into Russian history, specifically the 18th century, or into Soviet musicals, like, your a die hard fan of this genre. And I actually don't understand why people love it so much. It just feels like it was overhyped back when it was released and everyone still loves it because of nostalgia. I don't actually hate anyone who likes the film, I respect their opinion, but I just don't understand them and I doubt I will.
