Vera Altayskaya Movies

Like many another Soviet filmmaker, Sergei Gerasimov devoted his energies to the war effort during the 1940s. The Ural Front is the story of a defense factory that is moved -- lock, stock and barrel -- to the Ural mountains during the first Nazi assault. Characteristically, the film is a tribute to the solidarity and teamwork of Russian workers, most of whom are portrayed con brio by prominent stage and screen actors. The fact that the film was shot under wartime conditions makes Gerasimov's efforts all the more impressive. Completed in 1944, The Ural Front is also known as The Great Land and The Mainland. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"Courage under fire" was the theme of many wartime Soviet films, and Once There was a Girl is no exception. Actually, there are two girls essential to the action, Nastenka (Nina Ivanova) and Katia (Natasha Zashchipina). Barely out of the toddler stage, the two heroines are forced to endure the deprivations brought about by the long Nazi siege of Leningrad. Miraculously, Nastenka and Katia manage to survive, and even to participate in the celebration attending their city's liberation. The boundless energy and ebullience of the two tiny stars (aged 9 and 5 respectively) makes Once There Was a Girl an uplifting experience, despite the grimness of the subject matter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An impressionable young man's dream of marrying the local smithy's daughter is nearly derailed when the Devil shows up and tries to persuade him to leave the deeply religious girl alone in this magical Soviet comedy based on Nikolai Gogol's stories. Fortunately, despite the Dark One's clever machinations, nothing can stop true love. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In a series of strange encounters with the magical and the supernatural, a beautiful, abused girl named Nastenka, and Ivan, a strong, proud young man, find each other and fall in love. Nastenka lives in a tiny house on the edge of the forest, where her wicked stepmother treats her horribly while doting on her own fat, worthless daughter, whom she hopes to marry off to a wealthy family; Ivan, from another part of the forest, goes off seeking adventure, but he is too proud for his own good and must learn humility -- he does this with the help of a strange old man, who casts a spell on him giving him the head of a bear. He gets back his own face only after he performs a good deed for the sheer goodness of doing it, and is soon worthy of marrying Nastenka -- but first the two of them must overcome the evi lmachinations of a witch who tried to cook Ivan, and Nastenka's stepmother, who is still doing her best to thwart the girl's happiness. They get unexpected help from Father Frost, a St. Nicholas-like figure with his magic carriage and his icy staff. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi