Mermaid (2007)
"Rusalka" (original title)

In Moscow, a young woman disappears after falling in love with a new man.

Director:

Anna Melikyan

Writer:

Anna Melikyan (screenplay)

Stars:

Mariya Shalayeva, Evgeniy Tsyganov, Mariya Sokova

6 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mariya Shalayeva	...	Alisa Titova (as Masha Shalaeva)
Evgeniy Tsyganov	...	Aleksandr Viktorovich 'Sasha'
Mariya Sokova	...	Alisa's mother
Anastasiya Dontsova	...	Young Alisa (as Nastya Dontsova)
Veronika Skugina
Irina Skrinichenko	...	Rita - Sasha's girlfriend
Albina Evtushevskaya	...	Alisa's grandmother
Oksana Borisova
Ivan Nikolaev
Igor Savochkin
Igor Yatsko	...	Alisa's chief
Igor Uryvaev
Sergey Chirkov
Maksim Konovalov
Tomas Motskus

Storyline

The fanciful tale of an introverted little girl who grows up believing she has the power to make wishes come true. She must reconcile this belief with reality when, as a young woman, she journeys to Moscow and grapples with love, modernity and materialism.

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Plot Keywords:

girl | little girl | wishes come true | family relationships | seaside | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [ru]

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian Mandarin

Release Date:

22 November 2007 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Mermaid

Filming Locations:

Anapa, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 100 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Russia's 2009 Academy Awards official submission to Foreign-Language Film category.

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Quotes

Alisa Titova: Why would anyone need a property on the moon?
Aleksandr Viktorovich 'Sasha': To have somewhere to escape.

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Connections

Features The Fifth Element (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Waltz 10 C Minor"
Music by Frédéric Chopin
Methods of Mayhem

User Reviews

Where wishful thinking often brings the unexpected – or unwanted.

This is, as the genre indicates here, a fantasy. There is a mix of comedy and drama within, but it is essentially a fantasy story about a young girl who possesses supernatural powers – or so we are led to believe.

Life for anybody, each day, is a succession of events, is it not? So also with this film where we first see the girl, Alisa (Anastasiya Dontsova), as an eight year old, passing through various episodes of growing up at the seaside, and with dreams of being a ballerina. As the story develops in a continually episodic fashion, Alisa (now played by Masha Shalaeva), now eighteen, moves to Moscow with her mother (Mariya Sokova) and grandmother (Albina Evtushevskaya), begins the process of finding work, and discovers the good and bad sides of life in general.

So, like other movies – notably Amelie (2001) with Audrey Tautou – the viewer is treated to a series of comedic/dramatic vignettes about what can happen when a young person starts life in earnest as an adult. And, while I might compare the frenetic Tautou's acting to that of Charlie Chaplin, Masha Shalaeva, in contrast, is a female Buster Keaton par excellence: her deadpan expressions, her sly looks, the ghosts of her smiles are treats to watch and remember.

Central to the story is Alisa's belief she is prescient and can make wishes come true; central, also, is the fact she has fallen in love with a high-powered, boozy, marketing man about Moscow, Sasha (Evgeniy Tsyganov), and does her utmost to make his life more comfortable; in turn, he simple regards Alisa as his bi-weekly cleaning lady. Along the way, Alisa discovers Sasha is already hitched up with a stunning, silky, slinky blonde, Rita (Irina Skrinichenko) – a fact that simple makes Alisa try harder to make Sasha truly see her.

We all make wishes during life. Sometimes, things do come about as we hope. Most of the time, however, nothing fantastic happens. Instead, what ultimately occurs in this story brings Alisa, Sasha and the viewer back to all-too-grim reality, encapsulating, perhaps, the thought that you should be careful about what you wish for...

The production is quite professional; the photography is great, so also the editing and directing. I particularly liked the sound track. And the acting? While the supporting cast is uniformly good – notably Evgeniy Tsyganov – Masha Shaleva is not to be missed, in my opinion; I look forward to seeing her in other roles. Mention should also be made of Anastasiya Dontsova as the young Alisa.

Give this a good seven out of ten. Recommended for all.

August 25, 2012