“Flint,” a new interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale from Alexander Voitinsky, has been released.
Over the weekend, the film earned about 275 million rubles and became the box office leader in Russia and the CIS. The second highest grossing film was the next comic book film “Venom”, as well as the top three “Hands Up”.
We are watching how domestic filmmakers have discovered life in an old story. The result was controversial, but with bright moments.
Everything is different here
What is the film about?: in a distant kingdom, an unlucky swindler Ivan finds a magic flint in which the blind girl Dasha, the missing princess, is locked. Together they set off on an exciting journey to defeat the treacherous Likhodey, who bewitched her mother and seized the throne.
We will not compare original works and new films from the film industry here. These are completely different stories that are practically nothing like each other.
One thing in common is the presence of a magical flint that fulfills any desire. On this the similarities end there.
So, if you want to take your child to the cinema with the hope of showing him an adaptation of one of the famous fairy tales of your childhood, then pass by. The flint itself is woven into the plot only to attract the attention of the knowledgeable environment. Replace it with anything, and there will be no relation to the original image at all.
In addition to the similarities, one can attribute a soldier, who is actually Ivan the Fool, who simply dressed up in a military uniform.
Stylization and mixing of genres. Very controversial
“Ognivo” is immediately surprised by the ridiculousness of the styles: we see a kingdom with birch trees and huts, but at the same time we encounter unexpected elements of steampunk. A mechanical horse and French balloonist Jean (Jan Tsapnik) coexist here with illustrated landscapes and visual effects.
It adds charm to the film, but sometimes overloads perception: The transitions between the “antique” and techno elements do not always look organic, and it is difficult to understand in which world the action takes place. Especially at such moments when the horse begins to communicate literally using Yandex Navigator phrases. And the main character has an earring in his ear.
The main character was the not quite classic soldier, the trickster and (not very) lucky Ivan. He reminds Ostapad Bender more with his cunning and stubbornness. Meeting the girl Dasha changes him – Ivan begins to show courage and sincere concern. This line looks good and adds warmth to the film, creating characters that are alive and understandable.
The secondary characters attract special attention. The birds Alkonost and Gamayun (both videos played by Irina Gorbacheva) and the gnomes called “gmurs” include the atmosphere of a fairy tale.
But here is a mechanical horse that provides borrowing from spam, insertion. mild absurdity. The horse regularly says “The route has been rebuilt” and complains about panic measures, which make you smile, but sometimes it gets so irritated that it’s like it’s from another story.
And, to be honest, its animation is not done in the best possible way. Especially in the places of transitions between locations, everything is played out with very weak graphics, which almost instantly catches the eye with chromakey in the background.
These elements are probably done on purpose to add to the fairytale-like quality of the scene, but that’s actually what it looks like. poor work of the editing and computer graphics departmentwho can’t even put the walk on the surface, and the horse literally floats through the air instead of walking on the ground.
Sometimes it is noticeable that the actors are filming against a green background, and the sets are already in post-production. There is a real lack of outdoor shooting and larger budget pictures.
This is especially noticeable in the scene of the meeting between Ivan and Zhana – heroes who exist separately from the lantern. As for the voice acting, in some places the actor’s voices are clearly superimposed on the surface, and do not always coincide with the movements of the lips (this is very annoying when watching). What did they say in the first version of the film?
Colorful but chaotic
“Flint” is a memorable but unique film, with elements of a classic fairy tale, steampunk and modern humor. The aesthetics are overloaded, the plot lacks a star from the sky. However, thanks to the successful humor and chemistry between Ivan and Dasha, the film still holds attention.
If you don’t take fairy tale conventions too seriously, “Flint” is quite suitable for family viewing: there is something to be surprised and laugh at.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
