I tell ya, my name is ‘Arthur’!
Father Frost Morozko (Soviet Union, 1964; known also as Father Frost and Jack Frost) is the story of Ivan’s pursuit of Nastenka. The former is an arrogant young man, out to see the world outside of his rural farming village; the latter is a Cinderella-like character, a young woman whose older, vulgar sister is favored by her mother, while her father spends his time murmuring “I’ll not say anything.”
But there’s more to this story. Father Mushroom takes an interest in cutting Ivan down to size, taking advantage of Ivan’s arrogance to give him a bear’s head and a good case of despair. Meanwhile, Nastenka wrestles, metaphorically, with her mother, her sister, and Father Frost, all while being sweet and charming.
Add in a gang of rogues and an appearance by a murderous Baba Yaga, a witch from Russian folklore, and it almost works. Charming but jerky, too magical but quite human, my Arts Editor muttered several times about stereotypes interfering with her enjoyment.
Another problem is cultural: Soviet, or Russian if you prefer, cinema and folklore sensibilities differ from American sensibilities. For example, Ivan throws the rogues’ clubs into the air quite early in the story, and they only descend, at a fortuitous moment, at the end of the movie. Now, this may fulfill Russian expectations that perhaps Father Mushroom arranged for them to fall when needed, or that the delay is an example of karma, but Americans might find that convenient, rather than sensible or essential.
In the end, it’s an interesting film from a country that no longer exists, but not excellent.
