Skazka stranstvij

With its dark concept, The Story of the Voyages connects to the works of Hans Christian Andersen and reminds us that fairytales once played a role that the fantasy genre plays today - they were adventurous and moralistic stories often aimed at an adult audience. It is not common to show suffering and dying in fairytales - let alone one of the main characters. Scenes of a plague epidemic provoke anguish in adults and can be perceived by children as genuine horror. Mitta's attempt at a philosophical transcendence will also not be appreciated by everyone. On the one hand, it is necessary to acknowledge that the film stands out with its originality and distinguishes itself from the overly sweet Disney world, but on the other hand, it is heavily weighed down by excessive Russian lyricism and emotional outbursts of the main heroine, which are disturbing. The film is also oddly unfinished: the boy becomes an adult man during the journey, while his sister goes through the story without the ravages of time leaving any mark on her... Overall impression: 55%. (15.01.2014)