User Reviews

A poor miller's daughter kills herself after she is abandoned by her royal lover, but returns from the dead to wreak a watery revenge. A Russian short based on a play by Pushkin that is nowhere near as interesting as it sounds. And it doesn't sound that interesting...

This early Russian feature is a lively and imaginative portrayal of a "Rusalka". In folklore, a rusalka was a mermaid or water-nymph; usually she had once been a young woman who had met with a tragic end. Then, as a rusalka, she would often provide dangerous temptations to men. This theme might be best-known from a poem by Pushkin, although the story in this movie more closely follows a story from an opera by Dargomizhsky.

While its technical limitations are often readily apparent, the film tells the story in a clear and energetic fashion, and uses some visual effects that, for their time, are not bad. The cast members make up in energy what they may lack in experience in front of the camera. The main relationship between the prince and the miller's daughter is established well enough to drive the rest of the events. It is worth seeing in itself, and is also worthwhile as a good example of the zest and the kind of material that are often found in these earliest Russian-made movies.

This Russian movie was written, directed AND starred Vasili Goncharov. It begins with a rich Russian guy dumping this poorer girlfriend in order to marry a woman of his social status. The despondent girl then throws herself into the ocean and dies. Later, after the wedding, he keeps being haunted with images of the dead girl who he wronged. How long will this continue?

The film is far from perfect but this is true of every film from the era. The ocean is just a like with someone off camera tossing water to simulate waves. But the final underwater scene is pretty and makes for a good finale. Worth seeing.