tags: fairy tale, Netflix streaming, romance, Russian
⭐⭐⭐⭐
from Netflix
On the frozen rivers and canals of St. Petersburg, a petty thief on skates warms the heart of an aristocrat's daughter as forces try to keep them apart.
The description from Netflix is a bit lacking and inaccurate. This Russian movie is a fairy tale with a twist - it is a rich girl, poor boy romance instead of the usual beautiful princess rescued by a handsome prince. Matvey, the poor boy, works delivering pastry using his antique pair of skates but gets fired through no fault of his. His father is a lamplighter who is sick with consumption.
The setting is at the turn of the 19th century and the frozen St. Petersburg is transformed into a pretty Winter Wonderland where people go to walk about and shop. A group of pickpockets skates around and deftly dispossesses the unsuspecting people of their treasures including pocket watches and billfolds. The leader, who reminds me of The Artful Dodger, drops a watch while being pursued by a gendarme. . Matvey tries to return it to him not knowing he stole it. He gets recruited to the group to earn money for his father's hospital treatment.
He meets the aristocrat's daughter, Alice, on a dare from his new friends. They meet again at St. Petersburg while he was busy "working". Alice befriends him for her own reasons. As the story progresses, one needs to suspend disbelief but it is a fairy tale after all. Besides, I'm sure you'll love the superb cinematography and lush costumes, and the scenes of the skating thieves are beautiful to watch.
Language is mostly in Russian, some English, and French. Russian and French dialog have English subtitles, English has none. There are subtitles in CC English.
