Sympathy Seeker (1997) User Reviews

Good Christmas fairy-tale

[tomilino · 7/10 · 14 November 2000]

I think that Vladimir Mashkov shot quite a good movie worth seeing at the New Year eve. Just remember, for the time being there have been only two movies shown at the New Year eve in Russia - "Karnavalnaya Noch" and "Ironiya Sudby". And now we've got a very simple, kind and touching story about an orphan who finds her father just on December, 31. And not one in fact, but three! The scenery, music, acting and the plot itself are very appropriate and write to the place if I may say so. As for the actors, I'd like to mention Nikolai Fomenko acting as the girl's fiance. He's really superb!

Stick to the classics!

[plamya-1 · 6/10 · 4 July 2008]

This film is clearly a star vehicle for aging male actors: Gaft, Durov, Tabakov, in the way that "Starye kliachi" was for the women (Adzhizhakova, Gurchenko ). I enjoyed the latter; "Sirota kazanskaya" plays too obviously on the successful "Ironia sud'by", but without the satiric premise that drives that film. The drunken, confused fiancé is visually very similar, if more sympathetic than in "Ironia."

I agree that there is a market for this kind of film, but it represents for me the kind of soppy sentimentalism that I really can't stand in Russian comedies. And musical score that reeks of Soviet comedy scores. Of recent New Year's films, I much preferred "Vovchka," with music by Yuri Shevchuk, whose presence as a minor character provides an irony that is also thought- provoking.

If you need something comic and heart-warming for the holidays and don't expect too much, go ahead and watch it.