Kirandeep Yoder
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
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Director Aleksandr Rou's life had some aspects of fairy tale itself: His father, Irish engineer Arthur Rowe went to work in Czarist Russia, married, had children.. and left the country in 1916, leaving his family behind. His mother was sick, so young Aleksandr had to sell matches and combs to support them. Then came the revolution, Aleksandr joined a theater troupe, later the movie-making scene.. and became one of the tsars of Soviet children films, which they watched happily ever after.No kidding. This film ("New adventures of Puss in Boots"), which came with today's Super-Illu magazine, is a nice piece of work from Rou's middle period (and the earliest I saw so far). Book-ended by the story of sick schoolgirl Lyuba, it tells the story of the King of Chess and his daughter princess Lyuba, the intrigues at court, leading to the Queen of Cards abducting Lyuba, so her niece can inherit the throne.. and of course Vanya, the miller's son, who roams the world with the Puss in Boots, who of course becomes the real hero. The castles of Chess and Cards are impressive sets, with many nice little details (I liked the Chess telephone best). The story sometimes moves slow, but I can imagine that young kids would not feel bored. A nice fairy tale adaption, which can also appeal to grown-ups, and a welcome change from usual film fare. I'll keep an eye on Aleksandr Rou's works.. which is made easy by the fact that Super-Illu announced the next DVD season will again be old Socialist children movies, including a few by Rou. Bring them on!
