In a series of strange encounters with the magical and the supernatural, a beautiful, abused girl named Nastenka, and Ivan, a strong, proud young man, find each other and fall in love. Nastenka lives in a tiny house on the edge of the forest, where her wicked stepmother treats her horribly while doting on her own fat, worthless daughter, whom she hopes to marry off to a wealthy family; Ivan, from another part of the forest, goes off seeking adventure, but he is too proud for his own good and must learn humility -- he does this with the help of a strange old man, who casts a spell on him giving him the head of a bear. He gets back his own face only after he performs a good deed for the sheer goodness of doing it, and is soon worthy of marrying Nastenka -- but first the two of them must overcome the evi lmachinations of a witch who tried to cook Ivan, and Nastenka's stepmother, who is still doing her best to thwart the girl's happiness. They get unexpected help from Father Frost, a St. Nicholas-like figure with his magic carriage and his icy staff. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
The problem with making a live-action movie out of a fairy-tale, or a string of fairy-tales in this case, is that if one remains true to the source material, it's difficult to accept the material on a realistic level; that's one reason why operas can get away with what they do -- they're sung, so they're not realistic. Father Frost walks a very fine tightrope between true fantasy and the dramatic needs of a live-action movie -- it stays true to the spirit and content of fairy tales that serve as its source, but it arranges them in a way that does give the movie a comnprehensible dramatic arc. As a movie, it occupies a place all of its own, and a genre that is closer in spirit to opera than to film, yet remains simple enough to delight younger audiences. Director Alexander Rou found the two prettiest people in all of Russia for the two leads, had an extraordinary special effects team working for him, and came up with a movie that is special and unique. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide