Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors
| Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors | |
|---|---|
 Soviet billboard theatrical poster of the film Nushrok, Abazh and Anidag trio (top) Olya and Yalo (bottom) | |
| Directed by | Aleksandr Rou |
| Written by |
Lev Arkadyev Vitali Gubarev |
| Starring |
Olga Yukina Tatyana Yukina Andrei Fajt Arkadi Tsinman Lidiya Vertinskaya |
| Music by | Arkady Filippenko |
| Distributed by | Gorky Film Studio |
Release dates | 1963 |
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (Russian: Королевство Кривых Зеркал, translit. Korolevstvo krivykh zerkal) is a 1964 Soviet fairy tale film directed by Aleksandr Rou based on the novel, Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors by Vitali Gubarev.
At the end of 2007 the Russia TV filmed a musical remake - with the same name, featuring stars of Russian scene Nikolay Baskov, Alla Pugacheva, and Tolmachevy Sisters. The original film contains introduction music and a fairytale style of the early 1960s.
The film was also behind the inspiration for a restaurant in Moscow to only hire twins as waiting staff.[1]
Plot summary
Similar in subject to and perhaps inspired by the novel Through The Looking Glass, the film centers around an encounter between a girl named Olya Yukina and a mysterious counterpart, Yalo, while staring into a mirror. The characters are exact opposites: Yalo is the absolute opposite of Olya in every way. Where Yalo is organized and precise, Olya is careless and absent-minded. In the story, Olya steps through the mirror into the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors where Yalo resides. The kingdom, under the rule of King Yagupop LXXVII (reverse of Popugay, meaning parrot) produces crooked mirrors that brainwash its people through subtle changes in reality. When Yalo's friend, a man named Gurd, is suddenly imprisoned for refusing to make crooked mirrors by the evil leaders "Anidag" (reverse of Gadina, meaning snake), "Nushrok" (reverse of Korshun, meaning Kite (bird)) and "Abazh" (reverse of Zhaba, meaning toad), Olya decides to accompany Yalo to rescue him.
They meet a character who introduces herself as Aunt Aksal, the King's chef, who in order to help them reach the king and save Gurd, disguises them as pages of the king. On meeting the king, Anidag, Nushrok, and Abazh reveal themselves to be the actual powers behind the throne. The latter half of the story focuses on their ultimate defeat and the rescue of Gurd. The kingdom's mirrors are returned to normal, and its society becomes free. Olya at last returns to her home and lives happily ever after with her grandmother.
The story has been suggested to be directed at the perceived hypocrisy of western nations in attacking the Soviet propaganda machine during the cold war.
Cast
- Olga Yukina as Olya
- Tatyana Yukina as Yalo
- Tatyana Barysheva as Grandmother
- Anatoly Kubatsky as Jagupop 77
- Andrei Fajt as Nushrok
- Lidiya Vertinskaya as Anidag
- Arkadi Tsinman as Abag
- Andrei Stapran as Gurd
- Ivan Kuznetsov
- Georgi Millyar
- Pavel Pavlenko as Minister
- Tamara Nosova as Aunt Aksal
- Vera Altayskaya as Asirk
- Alexander Khvylya
- Valentin Bryleyev