The mermaid

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Movie
German title The mermaid
Original title Русалка
Rusalka
Country of production Russia
original language Russian
Publishing year 1997
length 10 mins
Rod
Director Alexander Petrov
script Marina Vishnevetskaya
Alexander Petrov
production Dimitri Jourkow
Alexander Gerasimow
for DAGO
music Yevgenia Smolyaninova
camera Vladimir Golikov
cut Irina Kolotikova

The Mermaid is a Russian oil-on-glass animation short film directed by Alexander Petrow in 1997. It is based on a story by Alexander Pushkin .

action

At the end of winter, the lake's ice breaks and a young novice discovers a naked young woman in the raging stream between blocks of ice. He pulls her to the bank and hurries to his hut, which he shares with his old teacher, and fetches a sleigh with a warm skin. When he comes back to the lake, the young woman has disappeared. Your tracks of snow end at the water.

In spring the novice is sitting by the lake when the young woman jumps out of the water and delights him with her laughter and dolphin-like swimming. She catches fish with her mouth and throws them to the novice. In the hut the old teacher hears the laughter and is transported back to his youth. He once loved a girl who had that smile. However, he married someone else and the young woman ran out of church in horror. When the old man comes to the lake, he recognizes in the girl the reflection of the then abandoned. Even the mermaid recognizes him, grimaces and dives back into the water. The old man knocks the wreath of flowers from the novice's head, which the mermaid gave him, and locks him in the hut.

During the night the old man wakes up and sees that the novice has fled the hut. He follows him to the lake. The novice rowed in the boat on the lake. The mermaid tries to capsize the boat, and in fact the novice falls into the water where the mermaid awaits him. A storm comes up, but it kills the old man on the bank. The young woman is also lying dead on the bank after the storm - in the old man's arms. The young novice sits on the bank, shaken.

production

The mermaid was created in oil-on-glass animation . The main character's figure is not a classic mermaid, but a Russalke , a natural spirit from Russian mythology. Most of them are drowned virgins, which suggests the fate of the old man's lovers.

The singing in the film comes from Eugenia Smolianinowa .

Awards

In 1997, Petrov won the Grand Prize at the Cinanima . In 1998 the film received the Craft Prize at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and was awarded the Grand Prize at the Animafest Zagreb .

The mermaid was nominated in 1998 for an Oscar in the category “ Best Animated Short Film ”, but could not prevail against Geri's Game . At the Berlinale 1997 was The Mermaid in competition for the Golden Bear.

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