Cinderella

a very touching film. i watched it multiple times and after each time i had an even more positive attitude towards the movie. i advise you to watch this enchanting masterpiece. the more you watch it, the more you actually understand the whole concept and point of the movie. this movie is suitable for viewing by all ages. no adult oriented scenes. this movie promotes kindness and should be treated with respect. i never knew that Yanina Zhejmo was actually 38 in the movie. she completely looks her part in the role of a sixteen year old. the prince (Aleksei Konsovsky) is 35 in the movie. he looks not much older than twenty.

A simply beautiful and enchanting Soviet film. Zolushka is very sumptuously produced, the costumes and sets evoking a really magical fairy-tale warmth and the photography doesn't hinder them in any way, no signs of going-through-the-motions or trying too hard. The score is just lovely to listen to and very distinctively Russian in sound. The songs sparkle as much as the script and story, the lyrics are clever and the melodies easy to remember. The writing is charming and the humour is hilarious, very smartly scripted Zolushka is. The story is simply enchanting, the Cinderella story is an old- though timeless- one but with Zolushka it doesn't feel that way, the tale is told with freshness, wit, charm and warmth and all that by being faithful in spirit to the story. The two leads are great and utterly believable- even when much older than their characters as has been said already- and the stepmother is appropriately formidable, while the fairy is nicely benevolent and the king is both regal and funny. The voices are also good. All in all, really beautiful and any Soviet film or fairy-tale-musical(or both) aficionado will be under its spell(as corny as that sounds). 10/10 Bethany Cox

Since we in the west are used to seeing the Disney versions of "Cinderella", it may surprise us that there was in fact a Soviet version. You probably never assumed that the USSR could have made such a glossy movie, but "Zolushka" is one impressive piece of work. For a country that wasn't into aesthetics, they produced a movie that was a real piece of eye candy. The screenwriters added a satirical side to it, but you'll probably best remember the costumes and scenery. During the ball, one of the stepsisters has Princess Leia hair buns.

Basically, this movie is more interesting than the ones released by Disney. I suspect that they had fun making it, especially with Faina Ranevskaya's emoting as the stepmother. An truly enjoyable time.

I bet that Yanina Zheymo had to beat guys off with a stick after starring in this.

"It's very bad for a person to miss the ball, when he or she deserves one",- these words of Cinderella's Godmother describe the spirit of this movie. Paraphrasing: "It is very bad for a person to miss a watch of Soviet Cinderella movie, when he or she deserves one". And in order to deserve you shall be ready to open your heart and senses to kindness, gentleness, belief, performed by the best cast of Soviet actors in incredible narration of the world's famous fairy-tale bearing that unique fairy aroma which to me is something close to ecstatic. The moral of out-of-this-world reward for those quiet modest non-pretending loving and hoping laborers like Cinderella is delivered to the spectator with great feeling of kindness which can not be destroyed even by the pranks of the evil Stepmother. An all family must watch, 10 stars for fairy tale and 10 stars for Soviet Cinderella.

Long ago I watched this movie as a kid and loved the story. Later on I watched it many more times when my kids were growing up, sharing their enjoyment. And I still keep watching it from time to time, but not for the story of course, rather for its very special emotional value. No matter how dragged down I am, it never fails to put me in good humor. This is a magic of genuine and simple human goodness that brightens the day. The movie is BW, very simple in a sense that it doesn't have any computer-generated effects, mind-boggling stunts so typical of today's fantasy cinema-- for those you should look elsewhere. But acting in "Zolushka" is very good. So if you want something that speaks to the heart -- you'll probably enjoy every bit of it.