Mermaid (2007)

People are voting emotionally.

Best movie of this year hands down!

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Beautiful! I realize not everyone will enjoy this, but if you can look at filmography as an art piece this movie is fantastic! This movie drew me in from the very beginning and I couldn't stop watching it. I hate to admit that I rarely watch a subtitled movie without numerous recommendations, but this one had me hooked. The cinematography was alluring and the plot kept me anticipating-something! It's very lifelike and the meek annoying character grew on me quickly. I started to empathize the exact moment that she mentioned empathy for a pathetic person. The insecurity of Alice and her growth as a character and woman is in sync! I cant wait to watch it with my husband and get his take on it. Watch it!

Or if you could like Rusalka. I must say that this was the first movie for a long time that shocked me . Yes, I was shocked, because I liked Rusalka very much, maybe because she looks a bit like one of my children. I expected a light-footed modern comedy with some Russian strangeness and heart, a better version of the overrated "Amelie", and I was not disappointed. For the first 108 Minutes. Then - obviously announced by movie language - the disaster comes in such a laconic manner, is this typical Russian ? Maybe that's life, but the break-in of the reality into this humorous fairy tale is a serious break of the movie with its own intentions. Rusalka's senseless death (in movie context) is announced by the age counting inserts from the beginning, of course, but the solution is quite an unsatisfying one, because it doesn't fit to the movie and lets me behind with questioning the sense of the story and watching it. But I didn't vote lower than the movie deserves because of the ending I personally hate. I have no problems with bad endings basically, and I can even honor when I am shocked where I didn't want or expect.Rather, the script lacks after about 1 hour or more from speed and originality, so that the movie began to bore me a bit and I asked myself where the story will evolve to keep my interest. I decided that the script writer herself didn't know it, because her inspiration had been worn out in some way. I got the same feeling as reading "Oblomov", where the first 100 pages are simply unbeatable, but the remainder of the book is mediocre.Rusalka did not so bad in telling the old Andersen story in a complete modern and unusual way, taking away this and that and adding instead this and that. But it looses the view for following the potential of its own genius. Thats why it became no masterwork but only a nice and sad story.My conclusion is 9 stars for good ideas, humor, mood, cinematography and the actress, minus 3 for the lack in story advancement. Maybe I am too hard against a very good movie, after all, it felt like a climax lost during a great intercourse.

This was among my four highest favorites of the 36 films I saw at this years Palm Springs International Film Festival. This film won the Directing Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, both in the World Cinema-Dramatic category at last years Sundance Film Festival. It's an amazing film for a feature film sophomore release by writer/director Anna Melikyan. This is the story of Alisa (Anastasiya Dontsova as little girl Alisa and Mariya Shalayeva as young woman Alisa) who grows up in a seaside fishing village with her mother (Mariya Sokova) and her grandmother (Albina Yevtushevskaya). Alisa is the product of very brief affair between her mother and a sailor. The sailor returns to his ship and the seas and out of their lives forever and Alisa longs for the return of the father she never knew. Alisa also longs to be a ballerina but when she is denied she takes a vow of silence to never speak again. This results in her being sent to a special needs school where she excels and develops what she believes is the power to make certain wishes come true. As an adult she heads to Moscow where she saves a handsome and wealthy burnt out real estate salesman from suicide. Now she must compete for his affection. Beautiful photography from cinematographer Oleg Kirichenko and art direction from Ulyna Ryabova with an excellent original music score from Igor Vdovin who all like director Melikyan are relatively new to feature film-making. Great casting with superb acting performances especially from Shalayeva as the older Alisa, who at 25 when this was filmed doesn't look nearly that old, and from the equally charming Dontsova as the younger Alisa. This film is a dramatic comedy with a lot of comedy blended with fable-like fantasy and color. This is quirky, bright, fun, smart, imaginative and innovative story and storytelling. There are a couple of dark scenes, one stunning and numbing scene in particular through great film-making where you anticipate what may happen but when it does happen it's not what you expected at all. This is a great film and I would recommend it and give it a 10 out of 10.

This film is one more must see Film! I saw trailer few month before and realized that it could be a good film. So it started from 22 Nov in the Ukraine's cinema. This film type is Drama but there are lot of fun issues and new ideas. I was impressed as Mariya Shalayeva play Alisa and as you can see from awards list she won 'Best Actress' award at Sochi. I'm skeptic to the Russian films but this is one more film after which I had impression for the next 2 days. I want to write about this now! It exceed my expectations! I recommend this film for any people ages except children's! And I'm waiting next films from Mariya Shalayeva and Anna Melikyan. I hope they will be great too!