Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors
Encyclopedia
Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors is a 1964 Soviet fairy tale
film directed by Aleksandr Rou
based on a story with the same name by Vitali Gubarev
.
In the end of 2007 the Russia TV filmed a musical
remake - with the same name, featuring stars of Russian scene Nikolay Baskov
and Alla Pugacheva
. The original film contains introduction music and a fairytale style of the early 1960s. Although apropos for its time, it appears very odd and strange at this point in time, but, in a way, improves the experience.
story by Vladimir Gubarev, together with the 1964 film, written in a Through The Looking Glass style. Alice-type Soviet girl, named Olya (O. Yukina) meets her counterpart Yalo (T. Yukina), while looking into the mirror. Yalo is an absolute antipode to Olya, for example where Olya is precise and neat, Yalo is absent-minded, careless, etc. The explicit plot relates to Olya learning to see herself differently, but this occurs through an experience in the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors which serves as a mechanism for commenting on the ability of a society to manufacture a false reality (propaganda against capitalism?).
The two girls find themselves on an adventure to save Gurd (backward reading for Drug, a friend), imprisoned for refusing to make crooked mirrors. He is jailed by the kingdom's evil forces, the trio Anidag (Gadina, meaning monster
/reptile
), Nushrok (Korshun, meaning kite
) and Abazh (Zhaba, meaning toad
).
They meet Aunt Askal ("Laska" literally translates as the act of caring, or weasel
- a word play
in Russian
), The King's Chef, who helped them on their journey by hiding them and dressing them up as two pages of the King Yagupop the 77th (Popugay, meaning parrot
). On meeting the king, the girls realise the extent of his stupidity, and discover who is really in charge (referring to capitalism?). The King's idiocy may suggest that such a system should be easy to dupe, at least from the inside, as the girls do.
Despite, Olya's bumbling mistakes, Gurd is saved, and evil is defeated. Olya returns to her grandmother and the kingdom's mirrors are not crooked any more, implying that it is now a free society
.
The film can be interpreted in numerous ways depending upon the viewers own history and the timing of viewing, which clearly illustrates that we all live in our own Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
film directed by Aleksandr Rou
Aleksandr Rou
Alexander Arturovich Rou was a Soviet film director, People's Artist of RSFSR . He worked primarily in fairy-tale genre....
based on a story with the same name by Vitali Gubarev
Vitali Gubarev
Vitali Georgievich Gubarev was a Soviet fiction writer.In 1931, he started to work as a journalist. He covered the murder of Pavlik Morozov, and he was one who created the myth about him...
.
In the end of 2007 the Russia TV filmed a musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
remake - with the same name, featuring stars of Russian scene Nikolay Baskov
Nikolay Baskov
Nikolay Victorovich Baskov is a popular Russian tenor singer. He's famous for performing both classical operatic arias and pop music songs.He is meritorious and people's artist of the Russian Federation. He is people's artist of Ukraine...
and Alla Pugacheva
Alla Pugacheva
Alla Borisovna Pugacheva or Pugachova , born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day...
. The original film contains introduction music and a fairytale style of the early 1960s. Although apropos for its time, it appears very odd and strange at this point in time, but, in a way, improves the experience.
Plot summary
Both the surrealSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
story by Vladimir Gubarev, together with the 1964 film, written in a Through The Looking Glass style. Alice-type Soviet girl, named Olya (O. Yukina) meets her counterpart Yalo (T. Yukina), while looking into the mirror. Yalo is an absolute antipode to Olya, for example where Olya is precise and neat, Yalo is absent-minded, careless, etc. The explicit plot relates to Olya learning to see herself differently, but this occurs through an experience in the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors which serves as a mechanism for commenting on the ability of a society to manufacture a false reality (propaganda against capitalism?).
The two girls find themselves on an adventure to save Gurd (backward reading for Drug, a friend), imprisoned for refusing to make crooked mirrors. He is jailed by the kingdom's evil forces, the trio Anidag (Gadina, meaning monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
/reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
), Nushrok (Korshun, meaning kite
Kite (bird)
Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....
) and Abazh (Zhaba, meaning toad
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
).
They meet Aunt Askal ("Laska" literally translates as the act of caring, or weasel
Least Weasel
The least weasel is the smallest member of the Mustelidae , native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, though it has been introduced elsewhere. It is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and presumably large population...
- a word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
), The King's Chef, who helped them on their journey by hiding them and dressing them up as two pages of the King Yagupop the 77th (Popugay, meaning parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
). On meeting the king, the girls realise the extent of his stupidity, and discover who is really in charge (referring to capitalism?). The King's idiocy may suggest that such a system should be easy to dupe, at least from the inside, as the girls do.
Despite, Olya's bumbling mistakes, Gurd is saved, and evil is defeated. Olya returns to her grandmother and the kingdom's mirrors are not crooked any more, implying that it is now a free society
Free society
In a theoretical free society, all individuals act voluntarily. Individuals in a free society find it safe to be unpopular. This can be elaborated in terms of freedom of speech - if people have a right to express their views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm.In a free society,...
.
The film can be interpreted in numerous ways depending upon the viewers own history and the timing of viewing, which clearly illustrates that we all live in our own Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors.
Cast
- Olga Yukina as Olya
- Tatyana Yukina as Yalo
- Tatyana Barysheva as Grandmother
- Anatoli Kubatsky as Jagupop 77
- Andrei FajtAndrei FajtAndrei Fajt was a Soviet film actor. He appeared in 44 films between 1925 and 1976.He was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and died in Moscow.-Selected filmography:* The Battleship Potemkin...
as Nushrok - Lidiya VertinskayaLidiya VertinskayaLidiya Vladimirovna Vertinskaya is the Soviet/Russian actress and an artist.In 1955 graduated from V. Surikov Art Institute.Spouse - Aleksandr Vertinsky...
as Anidag - Arkadi Tsinman as Abag
- Andrei Stapran as Gurd
- Ivan Kuznetsov
- Georgi Millyar
- Pavel Pavlenko as Minister
- Tamara NosovaTamara NosovaTamara Nosova was a Soviet and Russian actress, who was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1992. She appeared in 27 films between 1948 and 1999. She was married to writer Vitali Gubarev.-Biography:...
as Aunt Aksal - Vera Altajskaya as Asirk
- Aleksandr Khvylya
- Valentin Bryleyev