The Little Sotmaid (1998)

Trifling but pleasing

"Right near blue sea, where bars are so free" we can see just Sheakspeare`s passions. Passions so true and easy, that looker feels really fun. Anyone who have ever visited "gay and lesbian" festivals, knows, that two most popular themes in its creature are: "Look, how happy we are together!", and "Look, how they put us down!". These themes are the basic of film "The Little Sotmaid". Of course, it`s parody, but not ungry thus much, that "gay" festivals readily enter that film its programm. Happines of gay-heroes is absolute and innocent, just like the sky above its heads. But when a women appears on their island, their life becomes a funny thriller. The women haunts two men, and maybe, this is the finish of their happiness. The hero of N. Surkova is openly sexy and agressive. Pure gays rushes about theis own island, trying to avoid its claws. Oh, put down, put down (see higher). Soft and shy heroes of V. Zolotar` and D. Ignatov funny twitch, bolting this "vamp", but they even can`t imagine, that there are no indecisive problems. When males demonstrate the theme of "putting down", the female victim of shipwreck just wants to... drink. Obviously, that she (like the whole mankind) feels "her shirt closest her own body", and she dosen`t care about somebody`s sexual life. So, "happy end" cannot be avoided!

Film is easy, simple and beautiful. Looker may relax and rest, watching the excellent ecscentric trio. It remindes early L. Gayday`s works. "The Little Sotmaid" uses an esthetic method of "Samogonshiki" and "Dog Barbos & unusual cross". "The Little Sotmaid" realises proverb "operator makes magic"; suburb beach on the coast of Finish bay becomes an exotic island. If you see one little pretty thing calling "Cinema about cinema" right after "The Little Sotmaid", the thing, united working moments, shooted by half-secret camera (half-secret, because actors and the director himself were to busy to control the fact of shooting them everytime everyside), - so, if you watch this film, you may sure, that the film was making anywhere but not on Canaras. But there`s all right in in film - sea and sky, such blue as they used to be, coast sand - yellow, idols - misterious. Watching it, one wants to bath right now in a cool deep ocean, that is really just a simple little cveek, no deeper than knee. So the actors had not easy making. But as we can see (what a pleasure), it hadn`t an influence on their work`s quality.

V. Zolotar` is comic actor by nature, D. Ignatov has so colorite exterior, than it reminds Gayday`s Bivalui & Alexander III portrets, and N. Surkova suddenly got new image for her - the kind of comic actresse. Before it she had to play fatal women, prostitutes. In "The Little Sotmaid" N. Surkova had surely proved her actor`s expance. This time she even had not to have to show her pretty lags. But even without it a strange woman, one wonderful morning brought by bars on the island, and having made such a noice, yields to her partners-men in charming.

Film really amiable decides the scenes of man`s love. Heroes relates are full of care and tender so much, than right after film begiging we begin to cry of laughting. Remarkable, that D. Frolov professionaly avoides trite physiologic motives & rough jokes. As in "Shatanger Aylok", first gay-film of D. Frolov, heroes relates are full of high romancy. That romancy this time closes to such an absurd, that makes laughing any apologet of politness and correct. There are no deep philosophy and soul screams in film. What is it? Maybe naughty trick of director and his friends, maybe purely esthetic experience, maybe attempt to understand possibity or inpossibility to work in excentric genres. We don`t care, how, why and what for this film was made! For us it`s trifling but pleasing.

N.Legkova

Aug 14, 2018